


Midnight Calling

by hunter_king



Series: Supernatural - J2 [15]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Jared Padalecki, Hurt Jared Padalecki, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Schmoop, Slash, Swearing, Top Jensen Ackles, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-29 00:43:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 66,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16733769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter_king/pseuds/hunter_king
Summary: When the Padalecki wolf clan’s leader, Gerald, suddenly passes, the clan is thrown into panic. Despite their grief, they must have a leader – an alpha wolf. By rights, that should be Jared, Gerald’s son, but Jared isn’t an Alpha. He’s a Beta wolf – destined to mate with the new Alpha, and only an Alpha can lead the pack. While there are several challengers for the new role of alpha and Jared’s mate within the clan, a lone alpha, Jensen, appears from nowhere and unknowingly nominates himself to become pack leader. To everyone’s surprise, he wins. Jensen, a cocky lone wolf finds himself in control of an unstable, squabbling pack and mating with the sheltered but sweet Jared as his mate-for-life. While temporary peace is restored, and the pack struggle to accept their new leader, two unforeseen threats come at them; one from inside the pack, and the other a long-time rival of Jensen, who wishes to hurt Jensen in any way he can manage.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for Imogen_lily  
> Written for the werewolfbigbang in June 2012  
> Beta'd by samisan76  
> Art by ldyghst (deleted journal...sorry)

Jared stared solemnly out the window as the rain tapped against its smooth, transparent surface, almost as if it were matching his mood. He pressed his head against the cool glass and squeezed his eyes closed, trying to clear his mind and just trying to forget. His skin felt too tight and the desire to shift was making him hot; this damn monkey suit that he had been forced into wasn’t helping matters either he was sure. The voices from the other room seemed too loud and it all just made Jared want to scream out in anger.

Today was a sorrowful morning for the Padalecki wolf clan as wolves; members of the pack, allied pack members and even a few lone wolves gathered into the large funeral home to say their last words to the clan alpha Gerald Padalecki and express their sympathy for his kin. Gerald Padalecki had been well known for his leadership skills around the wolf world and his funeral was only attesting to that fact; the turnout was actually fairly decent and Jared had to admit to himself at least since he wasn’t going to say it out loud that he was impressed. 

But there was only so much Jared could take before he had to get out of there. Too many wolves were staring at him with too many different looks on their faces and Jared was just confused by it all; he was actually getting a little nauseous just being around that many people who were all staring at him like he had the answers for everything that was going to happen next. He wished that he did because that would have made everything so much easier, but he didn’t; he had no damn clue.

Usually, when a pack alpha passed on, his first born son was to take his place as leader of the pack. Gerald had been so pleased when he and Sharon had a son; until he learned on Jared’s sixth birthday that he was a beta and not an alpha. When the new information emerged, Jared was pretty sure that Gerald just stopped loving him all together because of what he was; it had only gotten worse when Jared’s mother died a few months after he’d turned seven. With his mother gone, Jared was neglected by his father completely, the alpha showing no emotions towards Jared other than disappointment and disgust.

Of course, Jared could have left the pack, but that would have branded him omega and he didn’t want that to happen. Being branded an omega wolf was the most degrading thing that could possibly happen to someone; it gave all the other wolves permission to beat on you and treat you like nothing more than the dirt on the bottom of their paws. Often times, an omega wolf would be raped and tormented by other wolves before it eventually died. Wolves couldn’t live without their pack if that’s the lifestyle they’re used to and coupled with the abuse the wolf took, it usually only lasted a few months; a year was the longest Jared had ever heard of one surviving.

So, he had stayed with his pack and took every bit of comfort he could from his older sister Sophia and his uncle Jeffrey. And of course that meant that he was also showered with love and affection from Jeffrey’s mate Samantha, which he wasn’t complaining about. But today he just wanted to be alone and he could sense that they understood and respected his wishes. Still, he could feel his sister’s despair through the pack’s bond and it only added to his own feelings of hurt. It wasn’t Sophia’s fault of course, but Jared wished that he could just turn off the bond for a few minutes while he got his own head clear.

Only when it was time to bury his father’s body did Jeffrey retrieve Jared from the room he had secluded himself in, the older wolf keeping his arm wrapped protectively around Jared in an attempt to offer up some sort of comfort for the younger male. He knew that Jared and his father hadn’t exactly been close, but that didn’t mean that Jared wasn’t feeling the same sense of loss everyone else felt; his was probably intensified actually because he had the feeling of losing his alpha _and_ his father.

At the young age of seventeen, Jared was now an orphan and the ancient ways of the pack were only days away from being thrust onto the young beta. Jeffrey knew that it was going to be hard for Jared and he had offered to take over the pack until Jared was able to find a suitable mate. There had been plenty of offers, but Gerald had been picky about this subject. Although Jared didn’t see it, his father still loved him, even if he hadn’t handled those feelings well, so he had been trying to accommodate for his son’s future in his last years. After all, Gerald’s death hadn’t been sudden; he had been haggard and worn out for the last ten years because of his wife’s death. Honestly, Jeffrey was surprised that his brother had managed to last this long without Sharon. The coroner’s report confirmed it as well; Gerald had died of a broken heart, ultimately.

Even for all of his efforts, Gerald hadn’t managed to find a mate for his son before he passed away. Misha Collins and Tom Welling, two of the more mature alphas in the pack had been considered and Jared had actually been betrothed to Misha for a while; unfortunately, it had fallen through. Tom Welling had been out of the running for a few years now because he had mated with another pack member, Mike Rosenbaum. Misha Collins however had only gone off the market recently when he met an outsider who intrigued him. Without even realizing what had happened, Misha had fallen in love with Richard Speight, Jr. and they had mated not long after, leaving Jared still available with the pool of alphas depleting too quickly.

Along with taking over the role of alpha for the time being, Jeffrey had also taken on the responsibility of trying to find a suitable mate for Jared as soon as possible. So far, he hadn’t stumbled on anything good and he was actually losing hope that he would ever find one inside the pack. He and Samantha had spoken about it and they agreed that if by the end of the week they hadn’t found a suitable alpha, Jeffrey was going to start reaching out to allied packs for help. Perhaps one of the alphas in another wolf clan would be decent for Jared.

Throughout the eulogy, all was silent save for a few sniffles here and there from some of the women. Jared took the time to reflect on his feelings about his father and alpha; although he had been treated coldly by the other man, Jared knew he had to feel something for him because he was his son and part of his pack. Despite his father’s distance, Jared idolized the man and had even dreamed about being like his father when he was younger. Now that Jared was older and understood the ways of the pack a little better, understood that betas could not lead a pack, Jared no longer dreamed of being like his father. Usually, Jared’s dreams only consisted of watching his mother die all those years ago at the hands of those foul hunters; the nightmares had haunted him since he was six years old.

Because Gerald had requested it, there had been no wake, so when the eulogy was over, there was a lot of hand shaking and hugs to go around before all of the wolves who didn’t belong to the Padalecki clan were off their lands and the Padalecki clan had retired to their rooms. Because Jared was family, he had a room on the top floor of the mansion that the clan shared, as did his sister and Jeffrey and Samantha. Their cousins had the floor right under them and it went by next of kin from there. Members of the pack who had no blood relation to Gerald had rooms on the first floor like David Boreanaz and Jake Abel.

Although Jared had gone to his room, that didn’t mean he was actually going to bed, the young wolf finding himself sitting on his window sill and just staring out at the large field the mansion had been built on centuries ago. In the soft glow under the moon, it looked so peaceful and it made Jared want to run through the surrounding woods and just get some of this frustration out of his body. But he didn’t; he knew that if he left the grounds alone, Jeffrey and Samantha would probably rip him a new one. The pack was very protective of him because he was the youngest and their beta; he figured the accident with his mother had something to do with it too, but Jared wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

Still, his loyalty and respect for his elders kept him sitting in his room just staring outside where he really wanted to be. While the moon had no effect on him in terms of changing, Jared still felt a strong pull from the animal inside him every time he looked at the magnificent gray sphere in the sky. Sometimes, he would sit outside and howl at the moon for hours, asking questions about his life and why he had been born a beta; why he had been such a disappointment to his father and then he would complain to the moon about how it wasn’t fair. If he spoke to the moon about these things, he didn’t have to bother his best friends and cousins, Milo and Chad about them, which made everyone happy.

A soft knock on his door had Jared turning his head towards the wooden barrier between his room and the rest of the mansion. His senses told him that Sophia was the visitor so he invited her in, moving slowly to look out the window once more. Jared didn’t move a muscle when Sophia placed her hand on his shoulder and took a seat beside him, his sister smiling softly at him. “What’s going on in that big head of yours, little brother?” Sophia asked when she noticed that something was bothering her brother, mussing Jared’s chestnut locks playfully.

Jared chuckled softly when his sister played with his hair, growling playfully as he gently batted her hands away. It was hard enough to get his hair to look good without someone touching it and although it was time for him to sleep, Jared didn’t want her messing up his hair. His playful look fell from his face almost as soon as it appeared as he looked up at his big sister with tears in his eyes. “I miss Dad,” Jared whispered, bottom lip quivering as Sophia pulled him into her embrace.

He hadn’t cried at all since the day his father died; Jared had remained stoic and almost professional about everything as he worked out the plans of the funeral and dealt with a few loose ends involving the pack and now he was finally breaking. Finally, Jared was letting himself feel the loss as he wrapped his arms tightly around his older sister’s petite frame and just sobbed into her shoulder. He vaguely remembered Sophia moving them so that they were curled up on Jared’s king sized bed, but he hadn’t cared. Sophia was his older sister and he trusted her to take care of him in his time of need.

Somewhere between the soft whispered words his sister spoke and the gentle, soothing fingers carding through his hair, Jared managed to doze off. Sophia stayed with him the whole night to make sure she was there for him when he had the inevitable nightmares. Throughout the night, Jared would wake in a cold sweat and sometimes he would scream out their mother’s name, but Sophia always managed to get him back to sleep. Eventually, she even dozed off for a few hours when she was sure her little brother was all right.

**~~**

Morning came what seemed too quickly, Jared blinking against the soft rays of light coming through his window. The weather had brightened, though it did nothing to help Jared’s mood as he burrowed into his sister’s side, taking comfort from the small body next to him. He once again felt her fingers carding through his hair and he whined low in his throat, begging his sister to just be here for him and take care of him in that one little sound. Jared knew that it was a sign of weakness, but he didn’t care; he was only seventeen and now he was an orphan who was about to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. As far as Jared was concerned, he was allowed to have this one minute of weakness.

After a few more minutes of the two just comforting each other, there was a soft knock on the door before Samantha gently invited herself in. She smiled at the pair sadly before she moved to the bed and sat on its edge, gently patting Jared’s bottom and cupping Sophia’s face. “Do you guys want breakfast?” she asked, smiling sympathetically at the young pups. “Everyone’s downstairs in the dining room chowing down; I made pancakes and omelets if you’re interested. And before you ask Jared, yes there is bacon.”

When Samantha mentioned food, Jared’s belly grumbled at the suggestion, the younger male not having realized just how hungry he had been. Then again, he hadn’t eaten since before the funeral yesterday, so it was no wonder his tummy was calling for food. Smiling softly, he pushed himself up off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. “M’just gonna wash up real quick and then I’ll be down,” he explained, smiling in thanks at the two women before he closed the bathroom door behind him, sighing when he heard the soft click of his bedroom door, signaling Sophia and Samantha were gone.

True to his word, Jared appeared in the dining room a few minutes later, his hair still damp from his shower. Instead of the stuffy suit he had been wearing earlier, Jared was now dressed in a maroon Henley tee with a dark blue hoodie over it, zipped about half way up. His jeans hung low on his hips, revealing his white boxer briefs if he moved the right way. Silently, Jared took his seat at the table, smiling softly at Jeffrey and thanking Samantha when she handed him his plate. He remained silent until he finished his meal, noticing that when he was done, he and Jeffrey were the only two still sitting at the table.

“I wanted to talk to you about what’s going to be happening in the next few months, Jared,” Jeffrey spoke, breaking the silence. “As you know, we will need to find you an eligible alpha as soon as possible who can lead the pack as it is not my place to do so long term. Your father had a few men in mind, though they have since mated and are no longer available. There have been many offers from wolves from other packs and even lone wolves who are willing to mate with you, but Samantha and I feel that it’s important to stay within the pack if possible. With that being said, by the end of the week, if we cannot find a mate who suits your needs, we will be branching out to allied packs for assistance.”

He took a deep breath then, watching as the young wolf too everything he was saying in. Jared may have been a sheltered pup because he was the alpha’s son, but the kid was curious and Jeffrey was about ninety eight percent sure that Jared was a damn genius. And he had been raised right too; his father had made sure Jared knew that the pack always came first before his own wants and desires. Furthermore, the kid had been taught to work for what he wanted and not be a lay about like most of the rich pups these days. Jeffrey and his brother may not have seen eye to eye a lot of the time, but Gerald had at least gotten Jared’s raising right.

Feeling that Jared had been given enough time to digest this new information, Jeffrey continued with the plans. “There will be a ceremony of course binding you to your mate and you will have to adjust to the new way of living. I can assure you personally that if you and your mate are meant to be, it shouldn’t be too hard, though there are some recorded cases of mates who had it rough at the beginning but are now some of the strongest pairs across the East coast. Also, as you may know, if there is more than one contender for your hand, there will be a battle and the winning wolf will then be able to claim you if you so choose to allow it.”

Of course, Jeffrey knew that Jared wasn’t awarded much of a choice because once the beta inside him noticed the alpha in the other wolf, he would accept without really thinking about it whether he wanted to or not. Not to say that the beta didn’t make their own decision on a normal basis, but Jared’s situation was far from normal; basically, he was going to mate with the winner of the battle if it came to that and he would have to adjust from there. Jeffrey and Samantha as well as the rest of the pack would be there to help him through it, but ultimately, Jared was going to have to figure out how this life was on his own for the most part.

This next topic had Jeffrey’s cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink as he cleared his throat. Usually, he didn’t have to deal with these kinds of conversations because the mother handled it, but since Jared’s mother died when he was very young, Jeffrey was going to have to suck it up and take the lead on this conversation as well. “Um…with you being seventeen now, you know that you could come into your first heat at any minute,” he mumbled, his cheeks reddening even more. “The first is always the worst from what I hear, so if you need anything, Samantha will be there for you, Jared. She’s been through it herself so she should know what to do. Also, it’s going to be your mate’s job to keep you satisfied during this period, though he or she must also know your boundaries. If these boundaries are crossed Jared, you will go to Samantha immediately and tell her about it, all right.”

At Jared’s nod, Jeffrey returned the gesture, clearing his throat as he straightened in his chair a little more. “Well, I think that’s everything for now,” he muttered, ruffling Jared’s hair playfully. “Did you have any questions for me? I mean, I don’t know how much I can help with some areas of our conversation, but I can try my best.”

Slowly, Jared shook his head really not all that interested in everything that was going to be happening to him. It was all for the good of the pack after all and Jared knew that he was always supposed to put his pack’s needs in front of his own; his father had taught him that at a young age. And he had no say in what was happening he knew because as soon as an alpha was chosen, his inner wolf would submit and then he could basically kiss his free will goodbye. Alphas were known to treat betas as equals sure, but there was always that underlying dominance and if an alpha didn’t agree with its beta, there was really nothing a beta could do other than accept what the alpha wanted and submit. That was going to be the hardest part for Jared, he was sure.

A loud shriek from outside drew both Jeffrey and Jared’s attention, the wolves quickly moving towards the door and heading out into the sun to see what the commotion was. They quickly realized that it was just Chad and Milo playing pranks on the other pack members the way they always did. Jared had to admit seeing Genevieve standing in the middle of the filed drenched from head to toe with her long brown hair hanging flatly in front of her face was pretty funny; he had to stifle a chuckle of his own because he had been told numerous times not to encourage his cousins. Then again, any time they messed with Genevieve was a good day because she was creepy and clingy and always told Jared how much she wanted to be with him; sometimes, it was nice to see her picked on.

The snickers from Milo and Chad quickly died down when they realized Jeffrey was giving them both a hard gaze. Of course, when they had first come up with the plan to attack Genevieve with the bucket of muddy water, they knew there would be repercussions but had decided that in the end, it would be worth it. Sure enough, the boys were led towards Jeffrey’s office where they would get another slap on the wrist for their actions; they had been through this so many times before they pretty much had the routine down. First, Jeffrey would yell at them and then make them promise they’d never do it again before he let them leave the room. If he didn’t like the target, he would shoot them a small smile too, but that was all they praise they received for their actions. 

Jared just had time to catch Genevieve as she threw herself into his arms so he didn’t get his clothes wet or dirty, the young wolf frowning softly as Genevieve wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh Jared, thank god you were here!” she sobbed, pressing her face into the crook of Jared’s neck as she attempted to push her heaving bosom closer to his body. “Those hooligans were trying to drown me! You saved me; thank you so much!” Smiling, she pulled back slightly, fingers fisting in Jared’s hair seductively. “Why don’t you let me make it up to you, young prince?”

His frown only deepened when Genevieve offered to make this up to him, Jared giving his head a small shake. “Um…n-no that’s not necessary,” he assured the woman. Really, he should have been used to this by now since Genevieve flirted with him every chance she got, but Jared didn’t think he could ever prepare himself for her advances. “M-Maybe you should go see Dr. Jim if you think you might be injured,” he suggested, shoving her off him as gently as possible so he didn’t hurt her, even if he wanted to be an ass about it. “And I don’t think they were trying to drown you Genevieve; you know how Chad and Milo are. They were just being funny.”

Seeing his opportunity for escape, Jared quickly took it, rolling his eyes when he heard Genevieve call out to him that she didn’t think it had been very funny. “Save me!” Jared pleaded as he pulled Misha into a warm embrace. “Genevieve is on a rampage again; I need refuge!” He chuckled as Misha slapped him on the back a few times before they parted, groaning softly when the older wolf ruffled his hair. “Why does everyone do that?” he grumbled, quickly moving to fix the mop on the top of his head as best he could.

“Because it’s so long and fluffy,” Misha teased with a gentle poke pointed at Jared’s ribs that had the younger male cringing away as he giggled. Jared was ticklish and Misha liked to remind him that he knew that; especially when he came to him for refuge from Genevieve. On more than one occasion, he’d tried to make Jared just suck it up and tell her that he wasn’t interested, but the younger male was too nice for that. Of course, Misha had given Jared the option of telling Genevieve that they were both betas, but the psychopath had insisted that she didn’t care and they could make it work, so Misha was fresh out of ideas. “So, have you seen Samantha since breakfast? She was looking for you.”

His smile dulled a bit when Misha told him that Samantha wanted to see him, Jared giving his head a small shake. “No, I haven’t seen her,” he answered. “Did she say what she wanted?” When Misha shook his head, Jared frowned, letting out a soft sigh. “Well, I guess I better go find her. I’ll see you later, Misha.” Waving to his friend as he headed towards the mansion, Jared wondered just what the older woman could possibly want from him. They had just spoken this morning, so he didn’t think there was any urgent business they had to discuss.

Once he made his way into the mansion, he smiled when he saw Samantha making a stew for dinner that evening. It was still early in the morning, but her stew took quite a few hours to get cooked to perfection and Jared felt his stomach growl in anticipation for the meal he would get the pleasure of devouring later that day. “Samantha?” he asked quietly as he knocked on the door. “You wanted to see me?”

A wide smile came to Samantha’s lips when Jared asked if she wanted to see him, the older woman nodding as she quickly ushered him into the room. “Did Jeffrey talk to you this morning about everything?” Samantha asked, never one to beat around the bush when she wanted to get information. She smiled once more when Jared merely nodded. “Did he get all red when he was talking about your first heat?” Again, Jared nodded, this time the young pup actually smiling himself as Samantha let out a small chuckle. “Honestly, you would think he was afraid of sex, or something.” Surely, Samantha knew better, but with the way he acted sometimes, a stranger would think him a prude, she was sure.

Her expression became more serious as she led Jared to the table and had the younger male take a seat before she took a seat beside him. “Seriously though Jared, if you need anything I’m here for you,” she assured the young beta. “Almost everything you are going to experience with your first heat, I’ve already gone through it and I can help you get through it.” Smiling, she cupped the younger male’s cheek affectionately. “Don’t hesitate to ask, pup.”

Jared smiled at Samantha’s kind words, the young male glad that he had someone who was willing to help him. “Thank you Samantha,” he whispered, his own cheeks blushing a soft shade of pink at the idea of speaking with Samantha about his sex life, essentially. After a moment, he coughed slightly to clear his throat before he pushed himself out of his chair and headed towards the door. “Jeffrey said something about wanting to look for mates today, so I figure I should probably go meet up with him. I’ll see you later.” With that, Jared was out the door, breathing in the afternoon air before he headed towards the large rock Jeffrey was sitting on at the edge of the woods.

**~~**

Turns out, hunting for a mate was a lot harder than Jared would have ever thought. There were only a few unmated alphas in the pack and Jeffrey didn’t feel any of them were right for Jared, even with David Boreanaz insisting that he would make a great leader. Jared was actually a little scared of the older male and didn’t want any part of him, so he was glad when Jeffrey warned him to tone it down and accept that he wasn’t suitable for the young beta. Of course, Jared could still see the lust in the older wolf’s eyes and he could guess that this wasn’t the last he was going to see of David, which had an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

For now though, he and Jeffrey were heading out to a neighboring pack to see if there were any contenders there that would be suitable for Jared. Jeffrey actually found a few – one male and one female – and asked them if they would be interested in battling for the honor of Jared’s hand. Both wolves agreed that they would gladly participate and Jared and Jeffrey sat down to a nice meal with the pack to show their appreciation of the two brave alphas. A third alpha had been out on business earlier in the day, a tall man with dark hair and tanned skin and the most beautiful blue eyes Jared had ever seen. He was also asked to join the fight and he accepted, kneeling down on one knee and kissing Jared’s hand softly to show his affection for the young beta.

When they finally made it back to the mansion, Jeffrey was smiling widely at his and Jared’s success, the man popping open and few beers and letting Jared have a drink although he was underage. Unlike human laws, werewolves were allowed to drink at the age of eighteen, and Jeffrey figured Jared was close enough to that age; besides, this was a celebration and he didn’t think it would have been right to make Jared drink apple juice while he indulged in alcohol. After all, it was only one drink, so it wasn’t like Jared was going to get drunk or anything; he could allow one drink.

The battle for Jared’s hand was set to go down tomorrow at noon sharp and Jared was very nervous about it. As the pack beta, Jared was expected to stay a virgin until he had been mated and now that the time was coming quickly, he was getting a little scared honestly. What if he wasn’t any good at sex? Or what if his mate wasn’t good at? The skittering thought that his mate would be rough with him and hurt him had a shiver running through Jared’s body, the young beta letting out a small whine in the back of his throat. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to Jeffrey about it just yet, so he merely shook his head when the older male asked what was wrong. Maybe he’d tell him later.

Now, just because he had to remain a virgin didn’t mean that the other betas in the pack had to as well. The only reason Jared was expected to keep his virginity was because he was the beta of the whole pack. Any alpha who would want to mate with Jared would want the younger male to be pure and Jared had been told by Milo and Chad that the alpha would take great pleasure in taking his virginity. Of course, they had been more vulgar about it and they teased him as well, but Jared didn’t take it to heart; though with the day so close, he had to wonder if maybe he should have asked his cousins a few more questions about it.

He made sure to nurse his beer, knowing that if he drank too fast, he would get drunk and then have a hangover tomorrow like no one’s business. Jared was a lightweight, after all and Jeffrey should have known that. But he felt that it was rude not to drink the celebratory beer because it wasn’t too often Jeffrey would crack and have a beer with him; he saw it as a great honor to be able to drink with someone of Jeffrey’s status.

Once he was finished with his beer, Jared slowly stood and tossed the bottle into the trash can. “I think I’m going to head up to bed,” Jared explained with a small smile shot Jeffrey’s way. “I don’t want to look like I haven’t slept in days when I meet my new alpha tomorrow. I might scare him or her away.” He chuckled to himself as he gave Jeffrey a small wave before he headed up the stairs and retreated to his bedroom. Tomorrow was a very important day and he wanted to get as much rest as he could and possibly have a little time to himself to prepare for how drastically his life was going to change. After all, by this time tomorrow, he would have a mate and he wasn’t sure if he would get any more time to be alone in his room.

Sighing, Jared plopped down onto his bed and pulled the gray hoodie he had been wearing over his head before tossing it into the hamper by the door. It was Alona’s turn to do laundry tomorrow, so Jared knew that if he had his clothes scattered across the room, he would get yelled at by the smaller woman. She was Chad’s sister and she had a very nasty bark; then again, her bark was worse than her bite so he wasn’t even sure why he cared so much. Probably just because he was raised to be respectful and if Alona liked his clothes in the hamper, then he was going to put them there, dammit. He went about changing into his sleep pants and an old ratty tee before he crawled under the covers and closed his eyes, willing his body and mind to shut down and get some much needed rest.

Unfortunately, Jared had too much on his mind and he was too jittery for the events to come the next day and before he knew it, the sun was up and it was time for him to eat breakfast. He took a quick glance at himself in the mirror once he’d pulled on a gray Henley and a pair of jeans that were tighter than the ones he usually wore. Before he ran out of his room, Jared grabbed a blue checkered flannel over shirt and yanked it on, buttoning it up until just the first button was undone, revealing just a small sliver of his chest where the t-shirt v-ed downwards.

Today was the big day after all and Jared wanted to look good for his new mate. Even in a wolf society, looks were a big part of the appeal for an alpha and if Jared messed this up because he didn’t take the time to properly dress himself, Jeffrey was going to be pissed at him. Satisfied with the way he looked, Jared took a deep breath as he headed down the stairs and joined his pack at the table for breakfast.

**~~**

“How many times do I have to tell you this, Chris?” Jensen asked as he moved through the woods, following a scent so intoxicating it was enough to have him adjusting his jeans to make himself more comfortable. “I know this scent from somewhere and I’m not going to be able to relax until I figure it out.” The scent had been haunting him ever since he settled into this Texas town and Jensen was afraid he was going to go crazy if he didn’t find the source. It was wonderful and Jensen just wanted to wrap himself up in it; Christian had made the comment earlier that maybe Jensen was in heat, but Jensen just clocked him upside the head; Jensen was an alpha, so he knew he couldn’t come into heat. But maybe this was a beta about to come into heat and if that was the case, Jensen was going to be there to show this beta the ropes.

A small chuckle escaped Chris as he watched his cousin moving through the trees trying to find the owner of this new scent, the older male giving his head a small shake. “You know, it would be easier if you just went and found Danneel to work off some of this tension, cousin,” he teased with a small grin, nudging Jensen’s arm. “I mean, you shouldn’t go off and find random hook ups any more, Jensen. Don’t you remember that’s how you managed to get Justin Hartley on your tail? And I for one don’t want to have to get a scratch on me when I have to step in and help your sorry ass fight him off. Steve would kill me if I marked this body.”

The snorted laugh from the third wolf had Jensen rolling his eyes, the young alpha wondering why he even wasted his time hanging out with these two. He chalked it up to the fact that Christian was his cousin and he never travelled anywhere without his mate Steve, so that’s why he was in this mess. “Look, I can handle Justin myself, all right? He’s nothing but a little punk ass bitch and I don’t care what he wants to do to me.” Shrugging, Jensen added, “Besides, if he could have made Danneel happy, she wouldn’t have come to me that night practically shoving her chest in my face and begging to be fucked, now would she have. Really, if you think about it, I did him a favor by revealing her true nature as a whore.”

Again, Steve snorted out a laugh, giving his head a small shake as he allowed Christian to pull him up against his side and laced their fingers together. “Yeah, you go ahead and tell Justin that,” he snickered. “I doubt he’ll believe you and will probably try to rip your throat out for talking about Danni like that.” Kissing Christian’s lips softly, Steve added, “He was in love with her, you know. Actually, he planned on asking her to be his mate that night, but you kind of ruined that, didn’t you?”

Now it was Jensen’s turn to laugh, the young alpha moving past a few more trees towards a clearing where the scent was strong. “Hey, it wasn’t my fault; everyone who knows me is well aware of the lifestyle I live. Danneel just didn’t understand that I only wanted to be with her that one night, I guess. She could have easily gone back to Justin after we were done and this whole thing never would have happened. So really, this is all her fault.”

Jensen could hear Christian and Steve talking behind him, but he wasn’t really paying attention to the words as he emerged from the clearing, bright green eyes intent on a small beta sitting on a rock watching what seemed to be a spat between two wolves. From what Jensen could tell, this beta was beautiful and he smelled so damn good, Jensen well aware that he was the source of the scent that had been tormenting him. A soft growl bubbled from deep within his chest and Jensen moved forward towards the young male, intending to grab him up and claim that delicious looking mouth of his.

Before he could reach the beta however, a solid weight connected against Jensen’s side, knocking the alpha to the ground. Angrily, Jensen pushed himself onto all fours, growling loudly as he morphed into his wolf form, bones popping out of place and readjusting themselves. His shiny three toned fur stood on end, the colors of white, black and brown all swirling together as he snarled at the other wolf who was trying to keep him from this beta. Again, the wolf tried to attack Jensen, but this time he was ready; there was nothing that was going to keep him from what he wanted.


	2. Chapte Two

Their bodies collided hard once more with the new arrival pushing the other alpha to the ground with his muscular frame. The sickening sound of something snapping had Jared’s eyes widening in fear, wondering if this new wolf had just killed its opponent; luckily, the howl coming from the other alpha clued Jared in on the fact that the wolf was still alive, but there was obviously something broken somewhere. Jared wondered briefly where this new arrival had even come from and what the hell he was doing here, but Jeffrey had quieted him when Jared began to ask questions.

Honestly, Jared thought they should intervene because this was not supposed to happen. Random wolves coming from seemingly out of nowhere were not allowed to just put themselves in the running for this; at least Jared didn’t think they should be. But when he tried to tell Jeffrey that, the older male just silenced him once more and continued to watch the fight. It was brutal and long, both wolves rolling around in the grass and snapping their jaws as they tried to force the other to submit. Eventually, the newcomer reigned victorious, his haws clamped around the other alpha’s throat and holding steady, warning him not to move and just give in.

Once the other wolf submitted, Jensen released him, watching as the other wolf rolled onto his back until Jensen gave him permission to get up by nudging him with his snout. He snarled at the other wolves around his beta, warning them all that if they wanted a fight, he was up for the challenge but they would regret it. No wolf came forward so Jensen allowed himself to relax, slowly morphing back into his human form, a small groan escaping him once the transformation was complete.

“Jensen, what –” Steve started, giving his head a small shake as he instantly realized what this was and what his friend had just done to himself. “What have you done?” he asked, frowning deeply at the alpha. He knew that Jensen could get a little crazy when something he wanted was the prize, but he should have known better here. Any idiot who walked by this beta that had attracted Jensen so damn much would have known he was Jared Padalecki, the son of Gerald and Sharon Padalecki and now the next in line to become the new beta of the Padalecki clan; it was the largest, oldest and most powerful clan in the United States, after all. Of course, Jensen would just have to scent this particular beta out and then fight for his hand; the moron probably didn’t even know what he had just done Steve was guessing from the obviously confused look on his face.

When the other two wolves presented themselves, Jeffrey stood, eyes darting from Steve then to Christian before they fell on Jensen. “Christian, it’s good to see you again,” Jeffrey greeted, having met Christian a few years ago while he was having some trouble with hunters. “Who’s your friend here?” he asked, gesturing towards Jensen, making sure to keep a sharp eye on the alpha. He hadn’t liked the way Jensen came in here with eyes only for Jared, but there had been nothing he could do; the possessive look in Jensen’s eyes had been warning enough not to try to keep him away from Jared, which was why he hadn’t intervened with the fight and had told Jared to keep his mouth shut.

Frowning, Christian took a step away from Steve, offering his hand for Jeffrey to shake, which Jeffrey did. “Jeffrey, nice to see you as well,” he greeted with a small smile. “This is Jensen; he’s my cousin. We’re really sorry about his actions here just now, but we were too late to stop him; he was out of the clearing and changing before we even knew what was happening.”

A small frown came to Jeffrey’s lips as he gave his head a small shake. “Don’t worry about it; no harm done,” Jeffrey assured the other alpha. “I think maybe we should step into my office and talk privately.” His eyes turned to Jensen and locked with the brilliant green orbs. “That means you too, Jensen.” Jeffrey made sure to keep his voice both light and firm at the same time, letting Jensen know he wasn’t challenging him, but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer here either. Thankfully, Jensen took the hint and followed after him, shooting one last glance at Jared before he did so.

As soon as everyone else was gone, the pack scattering through the grounds while they waited for Jeffrey to return with his announcements on the matter, Milo and Chad quickly moved towards Jared, their eyes wide with shock and wonder. “Oh shit dude, I think that’s your new alpha,” Chad laughed, head turned towards the mansion where Jeffrey had taken the three wolves. “Good luck with that one.”

Milo gave his head a small shake as he laughed at Chad’s words, also glancing towards the mansion before he turned his attention back to Jared. “Good luck with that one; he seemed like an ass. Did you see the way he was looking at you when he came barreling in here? It was creepy, man!” He had to admit he was a little worried for his friend if this man was his new alpha; then again, he was glad that it was Jared and not him having to go through with this at the same time.

The frown on Jared’s lips only deepened when he listened to his friends telling him this new wolf was his alpha and he had been looking at him like he was a crazy wolf. Sure, Jared had seen the look in the man’s eyes before the other alpha knocked him away, but Jared wasn’t quite sure how to describe it, so he was trying to forget it. “He is not my new alpha!” Jared argued with a shake of his head. “He wasn’t in the running; Jeff wouldn’t allow something like that to happen.” Staring back up at the mansion, Jared just hoped and prayed that he was right about this.

“I did what?!” Jensen hollered when Steve explained to him what he had just done. “No, that’s crazy! I wasn’t even in your little fighting game, okay? All I was doing was defending myself, all right?! I did not just sign up to mate with that little runt out there!” No, this was not happening. Jensen was a lone wolf; he didn’t want to be settled down to one clan and one mate. He needed to have sex to survive and he’d heard horror stories that once you were mated, the sex eventually died out of the relationship; he couldn’t live like that, dammit!

Anger flashed through Jeffrey at Jensen’s harsh words about Jared, his dark chocolate eyes flashing bright yellow in warning. “You watch your tone when you’re addressing Jared,” he growled, just barely reigning in his anger. “Now, you will do what you are told, Jensen; it’s your duty to obey the laws of the wolf clan. I don’t care if you’re a lone wolf or not; the laws apply to all wolves.”

Before Jensen could stick his foot in his mouth again, Christian shoved his cousin back away from the desk and took his place. “Of course he will, Jeffrey,” Christian assured the elder wolf. “You have to forgive him; this is all very new for him.” Shooting a glare towards Jensen, Christian offered his hand to Jeffrey once more, the older male giving it a firm shake within his own. “Shall we tell your pack that they have a new alpha?”

Nodding, Jeffrey led the way to the door, allowing the other three wolves to exit before he followed behind them, closing his office door behind him. The pack instantly gathered back in the circle they had been in before Jeffrey left when the saw him returning, all the other wolves waiting eagerly for the news of this new arrival; everyone except Jared. As soon as Jeffrey had started walking down the hill, Jared could tell the decision; he was doomed. “Can I have your attention, please everyone?” Jeffrey spoke as he stood in the center of the circle. “This is Jensen Ackles, a lone wolf originally from Dallas. Because of the bravery and skill he portrayed today in the fight for Jared, he has come out victorious. So, I give you all your new alpha, Jensen!”

There were a few cheers throughout the audience, though for the most part, the pack was silent. Jeffrey could tell that none of them were really sure how to take this news and he could also tell that Jensen was getting agitated standing here like this in front of everyone so he cleared his throat and dismissed the pack, needing to talk with Jensen and Jared alone. His eyes met Jared’s and he could tell the boy was scared, which made his heart hurt. This was necessary though and Jared was just going to have to trust that his pack was here for him if this ended badly.

Once the rest of the pack was off doing their own thing, Jeffrey ordered Jensen and Jared to his office, closing and locking the door behind them. He motioned for the two men to take a seat and they did so, Jared biting into his lip as he watched Jeffrey expectantly. Everything was happening so fast and Jared felt like he might pass out because it was so overwhelming. The beta in him was already being affected by the alpha in Jensen and Jared was worried that the older male could feel it because he kept looking over at him with a look Jared couldn’t quite make out in his eyes; lust, perhaps? Whatever it was, it only made Jared feel more nervous about this whole situation.

Jeffrey quickly took a seat on the opposite side of the desk and crossed his arms over the large wooden surface, leaning slightly over it so he could talk to the boys without feeling like he was shouting. “So, I’m going to go out on a limb here Jensen and assume you have never been mated, am I correct?” he started, returning Jensen’s nod when the alpha answered. “Well, before the two of you are officially seen as mates, there will be a few ceremonies; first, there will be the wedding as humans and then the mating ceremony as wolves. Once that ceremony is complete, the two of you will be official, which will make you the new leader of the pack, Jensen. Of course, Jared will help as will I if necessary, so don’t get too worked up about it.” Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, Jeffrey asked, “Did the two of you have any preference for the date of your wedding and mating ceremony?”

“Let’s just get it over with as soon as possible,” Jensen mumbled, head turning to Jared as if silently asking Jared if that was all right with him. The younger male merely ducked his head and looked away, so Jensen took that as a yes. “Um…yeah, as soon as possible, I guess.” Jared’s scent was even better this close up and it was making Jensen feel a little crazy. The alpha in him was calling out to Jared and Jensen had to grip the armrests of the chair he was sitting in just to keep himself seated there and not pouncing on Jared. Everything would be better once Jared was his and he could actually give in to these urges, Jensen was sure. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these two wolves were not really happy about this matchup, which had Jeffrey sighing. Mating was supposed to be about love and acceptance and it seemed that neither of them had that right now. But there was definitely something more than lust in Jensen’s eyes when he looked at Jared, so Jeffrey was going to push forward with this; they’d thank him for it later. “All right, I’ll check with Rob and see when he’s available for the wedding and them let the two of you know.” With a small sigh, Jeffrey pushed himself back against his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he asked, “Do either of you have any questions for me?”

Quickly, Jensen nodded, leaning on Jeffrey’s desk much like the older wolf had been doing moments earlier. “Yeah, what about Chris and Steve?” Jensen asked, worried that because he was now being thrust into this pack, he wasn’t going to see his friends again. He was a lone wolf sure, but he, Christian and Steve had been hanging out so long, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be thrown into this alone. “Can they join this pack if I’m the alpha?”

Knowing that Jensen cared about his friends enough to have them join the pack brought a small smile to Jeffrey’s lips as he gave a small nod. “If Christian and Steve want to become part of the pack, they will be allowed to do so.” When both men seemed pleased with their answers, Jeffrey clapped his hands together with another small smile, moving from his chair and leading Jensen and Jared out of the room. “Jared, why don’t you get Jensen all settled in and then you two boys should just spend some time together; you know, get to know one another a little bit.”

Although Jared didn’t really want to hang out with Jensen, he knew that he was going to have to get used to it since he was expected to spend the rest of his life with this man; so he nodded before he stalked out of the room, Jensen following behind him. It wasn’t a long hike to the little cabin Jensen had been staying in, about four and a half miles, which was done in silence for the most part. Every once in a while, Jared would point out something that brought up a memory from his childhood, but other than that, there was no conversation. Jensen apparently wasn’t very talkative, which Jared could respect; he didn’t really like to talk either, but he figured it was a good way to get to know someone. 

The young alpha made quick work of gathering up his meager belongings once they’d made it to the cabin, Jensen in and out in about ten minutes. After all, Jensen didn’t have much because he never settled down anywhere long enough to need the luxuries most wolves who were tied to one location needed, which he was fine with. Now though, he supposed he was going to have to get some of those things since he was going to be with Jared for a while. And he also figured it was a good idea to get to know Jared a little bit more, actually starting a conversation with the younger male on the way back to the Padalecki mansion.

“So, do you think we should practice this kiss for the wedding?” Jensen asked, not missing the small blush that came to Jared’s cheeks at the idea of it. “I mean, so we know what we’re doing out there and we don’t look like complete morons. Plus, there’s a whole bunch of different ways to kiss and I want to make sure you’re comfortable with whichever one we do.” That and he wanted Jared’s lips on his right now.

It was a bit out of the blue, but Jared supposed Jensen did have a point; he didn’t want to look like some idiot who didn’t know how to kiss. After all, Jared had only been kissed twice before and both had been extremely messy; his first kiss had been with Tom who was trying to teach him how to do it. It had been messy and Jared still hadn’t gotten the hang of it once the lesson was over. A couple of years later, Misha tried to teach Jared and that hadn’t ended well either; it had been messy too, though not as bad as the kiss he’d shared with Tom. Still, Jared hadn’t gotten the hang of it completely, so he was willing to try with Jensen; as the saying goes, the third time is the charm. He just hoped that it worked in this case. “Um…y-yeah, okay,” he mumbled as he turned to face Jensen, licking his lips reflexively when he felt Jensen’s eyes on them.

When Jared agreed with his plan, Jensen smiled widely, glad that Jared was on board with this. He was guessing that it was for completely different reasons than his own, but that was all right; whatever the reason, he didn’t care as long as he was going to get Jared’s lips on his own. Moving slowly so he didn’t spook Jared, Jensen lightly touched Jared’s hips, pulling the young beta closer before pressing his lips to Jared’s. It was soft at first, letting Jared get used to it, but Jensen soon intensified it, tongue tracing along the seam of Jared’s lips, begging for entrance. One hand slowly moved up Jared’s back, fisting in the younger male’s hair so he could move Jared’s head wherever and whenever he wanted, taking complete control of the kiss.

As the kiss continued, Jared moaned softly, feeling Jensen pull him flush against his body before he started walking, forcing Jared backwards. Soon, Jared’s back connected with a large tree, eliciting a small hiss from Jared, though the sound was swallowed up into their kiss. His lungs burned for oxygen by the time Jensen pulled back, both men panting out breaths which fanned over the other’s kiss swollen lips. 

Much to Jared’s surprise, Jensen soon leaned in and captured his lips again, a small moan bubbling from deep within Jared’s throat being swallowed up in the kiss as he parted his lips again, inviting Jensen’s tongue inside. He wasn’t sure he should be enjoying this quite so much, but he couldn’t help it; Jensen knew how to kiss and Jared loved it. Jared just hoped he wasn’t making too much of a fool out of himself by being inexperienced; that would have been so embarrassing. 

Another soft moan broke from Jared when Jensen’s knee pressed between his legs, the alpha’s thigh rubbing against Jared’s crotch. A part of Jared wished that he could let Jensen take what he wanted, but the younger male knew that he couldn’t; as the pack beta, Jared was expected to remain a virgin until he was mated. And while Jensen was practically his mate already, it wasn’t official, so Jared pushed at the older male’s chest, trying to get his lips free so he could explain to Jensen why they had to stop. “Mm…Jensen, stop,” he mumbled when he had shoved Jensen off him enough to at least talk for a moment, though their bodies were still pressed tightly together and Jensen’s lips were once again descending on his.

Soon, Jared began to panic because Jensen wasn’t stopping when Jared told him to. His attempts at getting away became a lot more meaningful, Jared thrashing his head about and knocking his fists against Jensen’s chest. “Jensen, stop it!” Jared yelled again, leaving no question in his tone that he was serious. If this was how it was going to be, then Jared didn’t even want to go through with it; no matter how good Jensen had been making him feel a few moments ago. Now, everything Jared had been feeling earlier was dulled by fear.

Finally, Jensen got the hint, pulling back only enough to look at Jared, though he still kept his palms pressed flat against the tree behind the younger male, locking Jared in place. Well, that’s how he was positioned until Jared pushed his arm down and started moving away from the cornered position he was in, the young beta glaring at Jensen. “What’s your problem?” Jensen asked, turning on his heels so he could see Jared since the younger wolf was behind him now. “I thought you wanted to practice this so we didn’t look like fucking teenagers who didn’t know jack shit about sex.”

Jensen’s comment had Jared frowning, the younger male feeling a bit offended by the way he was wording things; Jared was a teenager who had no idea what he was doing. “I said we could practice kissing,” Jared agreed with a small nod. “I never said anything about you ravaging me in the middle of the woods! Being a part of a pack means there are rules to be followed, Jensen and you were just about to violate one of them!” Sighing, Jared mumbled, “Let’s just get back to the mansion.” With that, he started walking, not even caring if Jensen followed him at the moment.

The rest of the walk back to the mansion was done in silence, Jensen trying to figure out what he had done wrong because Jared didn’t seem to want to tell him. He really hated being ignored though and he also hated that he could smell Jared even with the few feet of distance he had put between them; and dammit, Jared smelled so good. It was taking all Jensen had not to move closer and just claim Jared right here in the middle of the field they were now walking through. Of course, the mansion was only a couple feet in front of them, so Jensen had hope that maybe they could pick up where they had left off in the woods; maybe it was only public sex Jared was freaking out about. At least that’s what Jensen was hoping; especially if they were going to have to wait long for this ceremony.

Once they were in the mansion, Jared led Jensen up the stairs to the top floor where they would be staying when they were in their room. “This is our room,” Jared explained as he opened the door to his room. “You can just put your duffel over there and unpack later if you want to. And I always sleep on the right side of the bed, so you’re going to have to sleep on the left.” He was still pissed at Jensen for the way he’d acted earlier, so Jared didn’t even try to keep his tone light; he wanted Jensen to know that he was mad.

It was easy to tell that Jared was pissed, though Jensen had no idea why. He hadn’t done anything wrong and Jared was treating him like some kind of delinquent who needed to be spoken to like he was a child. Quickly, he reached for Jared, but the younger male pulled away, which only made Jensen angrier. Again, he tried to grab Jared, just wanting the young beta to calm down and explain what he had done wrong, but Jared dodged him again. Jensen wasn’t going to let it happen again. 

This time when he reached for Jared and Jared tried to pull away, Jensen caught Jared off guard by grabbing him with his other hand, shoving Jared against the wall and blocking him with his body, both of Jensen’s hands coming to rest against the wall on either side of Jared’s head. When Jared tried to wiggle away from him, Jensen pushed his knee between the young beta’s legs and pressed his body against Jared’s to keep him from moving too much. “Calm down Jared,” he ordered, bright green eyes piercing Jared’s scared hazels. “What are you afraid of?” he asked, head cocking to the side so he could get a better look at the young wolf. 

When Jensen grabbed him and pinned him to the wall, Jared was half tempted to scream for help, but he refrained. Jensen was probably just trying to get Jared to understand that he was the alpha and Jared didn’t want to get him hurt for something that came naturally to him. But he had to understand that Jared wasn’t going to stand for this. He wasn’t going to let Jensen push him around like this and not follow pack rules; sure Jared had a lot of explaining to do, but that could come later when he wasn’t pinned to a wall. “Let me go!” Jared hissed, trying to keep his tone hushed so he didn’t attract attention to himself. He snorted out a laugh when Jensen asked him what he was afraid of, giving his head a small shake as he shoved back against the alpha. “Not you; now let me go.”

“Someone clearly needs to teach you how to speak to your alpha,” Jensen growled, eyes flashing a brighter green as he thought of all the ways he could teach Jared. He pushed back against Jared when he tried to shove Jensen off him, not willing to let this opportunity slip away. “Now Jared, I’m going to kiss you and you’re going to let me.” Another soft growl left Jensen as he leaned forward and crushed his lips against Jared’s, smiling softly when the young beta moaned into his mouth, Jensen taking that as an opportunity to thrust his tongue into Jared’s mouth and re-learn every nook and cranny.

Before Jared could protest the kiss, Jensen’s lips were on his and there was nothing Jared could do about it. Sure, he could have fought, but Jensen was stronger than him naturally because he was an alpha and Jared had a feeling Jensen had been in a lot more fights than Jared had been, so he had more experience; fighting him would have been a bad idea. So, he kissed Jensen back, moaning softly into the kiss when Jensen’s tongue tangled around his own. He was actually starting to enjoy this when Jensen pulled away, lips sliding across Jared’s cheek and then down Jared’s neck, leaving the younger wolf panting for breaths as he turned his head to the side to offer up more of his neck to his alpha.

Another low growl sounded in Jensen’s throat before he bit down into Jared’s neck, holding Jared more tightly when he tried to buck away and get Jensen off him. “Jensen!” Jared yelled, shoving at Jensen roughly though being careful at the same time because he didn’t want to do something wrong and get a chunk of his neck taken off. “Jensen, get off me!” Jared yelled, panic rushing through his body, his heart pounding against his chest. 

The fear pulsing through Jared was what had Jensen releasing him, the alpha frowning in confusion as he pulled back to look at Jared. There was no reason to be afraid, after all; Jensen wasn’t trying to hurt Jared, but he didn’t seem to understand that. When Jared went to hit him, it took Jensen so much by surprise that he barely had time to grab Jared’s fist and stop him from landing the blow. “Do not try that again,” he warned, his voice low and dangerous. “What is your problem now?”

Jared stared at his fist held tightly in Jensen’s hand with shock for a moment before his eyes ticked back up to Jensen who still didn’t seem to understand what he was doing wrong. “What’s my problem?!” Jared asked, head shaking in disbelief when Jensen nodded. “You’re my problem, Jensen! You’re doing this all wrong! There are rules to be followed and you’re just doing whatever the hell you want!” Yanking his hand from Jensen’s grasp, Jared moved away from the wall and headed into the bathroom, making sure Jensen hadn’t actually marked him as his beta yet; that was for the ceremony and not before.

“You keep talking about these rules Jared, but I have no idea what they are!” Jensen argued, following Jared into the bathroom and growling when Jared tried to close the door on him. “How am I supposed to follow these rules when you won’t explain them to me?” He frowned as he watched Jared examine the bite on his neck, figuring the young beta was trying to decipher if Jensen had marked him as his mate yet; Steve and Christian had told him about the bite and he knew that he wasn’t supposed to lay claim on someone unless he was given permission, so he hadn’t done it to Jared. “Relax, Jared; it was just a love bite. You need to chill out before you make yourself have a heart attack.”

A small, relieved sigh escaped Jared when Jensen assured him it was just a love bite. However, when Jensen told him he needed to chill out, he frowned deeper, turning on his heels and pushing past Jensen as he walked back into the bedroom. “I can’t deal with this right now,” Jared mumbled, pulling the covers back on the bed before he climbed in. “I just want to go to bed.” Jared knew that tomorrow, he was going to have to explain a few things to Jensen, but he couldn’t handle it right now; already, he’d been worn out just from trying to keep Jensen from breaking rules and while Jensen had a point, Jared couldn’t deal with it all now. Not one week ago, he had been a normal werewolf pup, and now he was trying to mate with someone he didn’t even know and run a pack; it was all very overwhelming.

Bed sounding like a good idea, so Jensen didn’t even argue with Jared about it, instead moving to crawl onto the left side where Jared wasn’t lying. He supposed that since there was only one bed and Jared had specifically told him he had the left side, he was supposed to sleep with Jared; then again, he didn’t want to break any rule and have the younger male freaking out on him again. But Jared just pulled the blankets up over his shoulder and turned his back on Jensen, so he figured this wasn’t a huge issue; tomorrow, he would get more information out of the kid, even if he had to beat it out of him.

**~~**

They hadn’t been sleeping for more than two hours before Jensen heard whimpering, which caused him to stir from his sleep. “Jared?” he asked, his voice groggy and rough from sleep as he turned on his side to face Jared. Of course, Jared still had his back to him, but Jensen could still see that Jared was shaking and he had sweat pouring off him, soaking Jared’s T-shirt and the sheets beneath him. “Jared, are you all right?” Jensen asked, worried that something bad was happening to his beta. He quickly reached for Jared’s shoulder, turning him onto his back so he could look into the young wolf’s face; Jared was burning up and his eyes were unfocused, and Jensen didn’t know what to do as he was gripped with panic. 

However, when Jensen smelled the pheromones coming off Jared in waves, he knew that this wasn’t something to be worried about; Jared was in heat, and Jensen knew just what he needed to make him feel better. Slowly, he dipped his head, nuzzling against Jared’s neck as he breathed in the young beta’s scent. “Mm…how old are you, Jared?” Jensen asked, knowing that he couldn’t be more than twenty-one and if he was younger than that, this could possibly be his first heat. And if that was the case, there was no way Jensen could just lie here and do nothing. His smile widened when Jared told him he was only seventeen; Jared was practically a baby. “Do you know what’s happening to you?” Jensen asked, pulling back to gaze down into Jared’s face as he watched the young beta nod. “You want me to help?”

It was so tempting just to nod and let Jensen help him, but Jared knew he couldn’t that. He knew how Jensen planned on helping him and Jared knew that he wasn’t allowed to give himself to Jensen before they were officially mated. So, he gathered up every ounce of strength and will power he could muster and he shook his head. “N-No,” he muttered, pushing himself into a seated position. “No, get away from me. I can take care of myself.”

When Jared refused to let him help, Jensen frowned, knowing there was no way Jared could take care of himself like he was insisting. Unfortunately, Jared was already pushing himself out of the bed and stumbling into the bathroom, so aside from getting up and following him, there was really nothing Jensen could do. Sighing, he placed his hands behind his head and slowly lied back on the mattress, waiting a few minutes to see what Jared’s plans were to help himself. A wide smile came to his lips when he heard the shower running, Jensen knowing that wasn’t going to do a damn thing for Jared. He had been around when Danneel went into her first heat and when Steve had gone into his and he knew there was only one thing that could make it better; sexual release.

He gave Jared a few minutes to himself before he pushed off the bed, losing clothes on the way into the bathroom. For a few moments, Jensen just stood outside of the shower, watching Jared as he tipped his head back and let the cool water cascade over his body. Due to the way Jared was feeling, Jensen knew that he wasn’t going to be on guard, so he was able to slip into the shower unnoticed. But when he wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist, he had to duck out of the way so he didn’t get elbowed in the jaw. “Relax, Jared,” Jensen instructed, hands slowly sliding up and down Jared’s torso, smiling when he felt Jared’s muscles ripple beneath his hands. “S’just me.”

Brows knit in confusion, Jared gave his head a small shake. “W-What are you doing in here?” he asked, another whimper leaving him as he felt Jensen’s member pressing against his ass cheek. “You can’t be here.” He didn’t care if he was in heat, there was no way he was breaking pack law and letting Jensen take his virginity. They were going to be mates; that didn’t mean they were already mated and if Jared broke the pack’s law, something bad might happen. Not to mention that he would have let all of his pack down; he wasn’t going to risk that. 

“I came here to help you,” Jensen explained, head dipping forward as his lips skimmed across Jared’s damp flesh. “I know what you need Jared, and a shower isn’t it.” He sucked the tender flesh of Jared’s neck into his mouth where he had bitten him earlier, tongue teasing the skin as he gave a small moan, feeling Jared pressing back against him. “Let me take care of you, baby.” Again, Jensen suckled at Jared’s neck, his hips bucking forward as Jared pressed back against him, letting Jared know that he was definitely interested in making him feel better.

As Jensen bucked against him, Jared whimpered, his want for Jensen intensifying though he continued to fight it. “No,” he argued, giving his head a small shake as if that would make his answer more convincing. “We can’t; pack rules say that I have to stay a…virgin…until I’m mated.” His cheeks reddened when he told Jensen that he was a virgin, but he had to get his point across; as much as he acted like being with Jensen pissed him off, he really did want this thing to work. After all, Jensen had won the fight and Jared was rightfully his because of it according to pack rules. “Please…just leave me alone? Before we do something stupid.”

Jensen still didn’t understand all of these pack rules that Jared kept mumbling about, using them as excuses, but he didn’t want to make Jared mad because he pushed Jared into breaking one of the precious rules, so he backed off. “Fine, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” he assured Jared, one hand moving to comb through Jared’s wet hair while his other hand remained pressed against Jared’s stomach, fingers gently stroking Jared’s skin. “But you can’t make this go away with just a shower, Jared. There are other ways to get off than sex.”

Without giving Jared a chance to answer, Jensen flipped him around so that they were facing each other, pushing Jared until his back was pressed tightly against the shower wall and then pinning him there with his body. His lips hovered over Jared’s for a brief second before he was ravaging Jared’s mouth, tongue tangling with Jared’s as he coaxed Jared’s tongue into his mouth, sucking on the muscle once he’d gotten his way. He moaned softly into the kiss, hips bucking against Jared’s gently so he didn’t spook the kid; he wanted to help and if he scared Jared away, he had a feeling Jared wouldn’t let him get this close again.

The way Jensen had him pinned against the shower wall like this and was grinding against him had Jared mewling loudly, bucking his hips against Jensen’s almost erratically in an attempt to make this desire burning inside him go away. He had never felt this kind of need in his whole life and he wanted it to stop; but Jensen was right. Jared knew there was no way for this to stop until he let Jensen take care of it; he just hoped Jensen had a good plan because he was fresh out of ideas unless he wanted to break the rules, which he didn’t. “W-What are you doing?” Jared asked when Jensen started rocking against him, sending pleasure shooting through his body.

Groaning softly, Jensen pressed his cheek against Jared’s so he could whisper in Jared’s ear. “Call it assisted masturbation,” he explained, picking up his pace in an attempt to get Jared even more worked up. His eyes squeezed closed in pleasure as he felt Jared bucking back against him, his face pressed tightly against Jensen’s neck. Slowly, Jensen moved one hand from the wall and carded his fingers through Jared’s hair, holding the young wolf’s head in place as he whispered, “S’okay Jared; just take what you need.”

There was only one problem with that statement; Jared didn’t know what he needed. All he knew was that this felt good and he didn’t want to stop. He moved somewhat reluctantly as he touched Jensen, his fingers curling around the alpha’s hips, pulling Jensen against his body harder as he rocked against him. Deep moans broke from Jared’s lips as he felt Jensen responding to him, hands moving up Jensen’s back to dig into his shoulders, holding on tightly as he felt like his skin was getting tighter against his body. Before he knew what was happening, his balls were drawing up tightly against his body and he was messing Jensen with his spunk, the water from the shower quickly washing Jared’s release down the drain.

For a few more minutes, Jared just stood there while Jensen continued to rock against him, moaning once more when he felt Jensen’s cock twitching moments before he came on Jared, their mixed spunk getting washed down the drain. Once Jensen had cum, he relaxed against Jared, letting his weight rest almost completely on the young beta, holding him against the wall still. “Mm…” he moaned as he kissed and licked Jared’s neck and shoulder, moving to grab the washcloth Jared had brought into the shower with him. “Do you feel better now?”

Slowly, Jared nodded, letting Jensen know he was feeling much better. “Y-Yeah,” he answered, biting into his lip as Jensen ran the sudsy washcloth over his back and down his chest. “I feel a lot better; thank you.” He wasn’t sure if showering with Jensen was such a good idea, but he did know that he needed to get cleaned up before he went back to bed, so he just relaxed under the alpha’s touch, eyes slipping closed as he began to actually enjoy the attention.

Once they were both cleaned up, Jensen turned off the water and grabbed a towel Jared had sitting nearby, drying off Jared and then himself. “Let’s get you back to bed,” Jensen mumbled, slowly leading Jared into the bedroom and getting him settled under the covers once more. He was actually surprised by how cute Jared looked when he wasn’t yelling at him, and Jensen secretly longed for more of these moments. But that was going to have to be another time because Jared was out like a light as soon as Jensen had him in the bed, eliciting a small chuckle from Jensen.

His movements were slow as he crawled into his own side of the bed, not wanting to risk waking Jared because he knew his first heat must have worn him out. Sighing, Jensen rolled onto his side so he was facing Jared, not worried about the consequences he would likely face tomorrow morning as he wrapped his arm around Jared’s waist and spooned in behind the young beta; he would deal with everything else in the morning because right now, this was all he wanted.


	3. Chapter Three

The next morning, Jared woke to find two – no, make that three – things wrong. One, Jared was naked, two, Jensen was naked, and three, Jensen was as hard as a rock. He didn’t want to wake the older male and make him think he was going to get something he wasn’t, but Jared needed to get away from this bed before something actually happened. Judging from what he remembered about last night, which wasn’t much, he knew that Jensen was a very persuasive man. Jared knew they hadn’t had sex because he wasn’t sore, but he also knew that Jensen had gotten him to cum; he just didn’t remember how he’d done that.

Even with his attempts to keep Jensen sleeping, Jared must have either moved too fast or made too much noise because the older wolf stirred when Jared left the bed. “Jay?” Jensen muttered, pushing onto one elbow so he could gaze at Jared. Of course, Jared found it to be more of a leer, but Jensen wasn’t really worried about that right now. “Where are you going?” he asked, wanting to curl up in the bed for a few more minutes before they went to join the rest of the pack and took on the day.

“I wanna take a shower,” Jared explained, knowing that it would definitely help with his own growing hard on. He was in heat, so he supposed it was normal to get hard at the sight of an attractive wolf, but Jared didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Of course, he also knew that Jensen could probably smell him and he wouldn’t be let off the hook that easily, but he was going to try to avoid anything that had to do with Jensen helping him again. He probably wouldn’t remember it anyway, so he didn’t think it would really matter. Later, he would go find Jeffrey and explain the severity of the situation and hopefully get him and Jensen mated before this drove him nuts.

Sure enough, Jensen wasn’t going to let Jared get away that easily. “You just showered last night,” Jensen reminded, pushing towards the edge of the bed so he could get closer to Jared; unfortunately, Jensen coming closer made him a lot more intimidating. His eyes slowly ticked down to Jared’s crotch, licking his lips as he looked back up into Jared’s face. “If you need me to help you again, all you have to do is ask, baby.” Jensen was more than happy to help Jared with his urges; all Jared had to do was say the words. 

It would have been so easy to just walk over to that bed and let Jensen take care of him, but it felt wrong. “N-No,” Jared mumbled before he bit into his bottom lip and gave his head a small shake. “I can take care of myself, Jensen.” And he could; he just needed to be left alone long enough to do it and Jensen was preventing him from having any time to himself, which wasn’t helping at all. “I’m just…gonna go to the bathroom to be alone so don’t bother me.”

Jared’s words fell on deaf ears as Jensen allowed his eyes to rove over the younger male’s body. However, when he saw Jared turning to walk away, he quickly reached out and grabbed his beta’s wrist, stopping Jared from leaving the room; he wanted to help and he wasn’t going to take no as an answer. After all, Jared had simply said they couldn’t have sex last night; he had a few other things in mind that they could try. “Where are you going?” he asked, a small frown on his lips. “I can help you. Let me help, Jay.”

A small frown came to Jared’s lips when Jensen asked him where he was going, Jared knowing for a fact that he had just answered that question with his previous statement. “I’m going to the bathroom,” he repeated, shaking his wrist in an attempt to get Jensen to let him go, though the action was for nothing. “I said I can help myself,” he argued, frowning more deeply when Jensen still wouldn’t let him go. “Jensen, come on, let me go.”

Before Jared could try to pull away again, Jensen quickly pushed himself off the bed and shoved Jared into the wall on the opposite side of the room, palms flat as they pressed against the wall on either side of Jared’s head. He made sure to be careful not to shove too hard so he didn’t hurt Jared, but he also wanted to get his point across that he was going to help Jared and he wasn’t going to desist from his intention. “You seem like a pretty smart kid,” Jensen started, eyes boring holes into Jared’s own. “So you’ve probably researched everything you could find about a beta going into heat, right?” He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes when Jared nodded, having figured the young beta was kind of a nerd; a sexy nerd, but that was beside the point. “Now, tell me again you can handle this yourself.”

Although Jared wanted to lie and tell Jensen could he handle this, from all of his research, he knew better. It was part of the wolves’ nature; betas would come into heat only when they were in close quarters with their alphas – which is why Jared was a late bloomer, he was guessing – and it would be up to the alpha to make sure his beta was taken care and not taken advantage of. Jared knew all of this, but he was still unsure if he wanted to take Jensen up on his offer to help; it was too dangerous. One wrong move and Jared could run the possibility of breaking his pack’s specific rules, which wasn’t okay with him.

Jensen could see the minute Jared’s resolve fell and he could also see how much Jared was struggling with this decision. The alpha in him wanted to take Jared and make everything okay, but he wouldn’t dare do that unless Jared gave him permission. And right now, it looked like Jared was going to need a little convincing before Jensen got close enough to help. Slowly, his hand moved from the wall and he slid his index finger over Jared’s shoulder and down his arm, head cocking to the side as he gazed into Jared’s face. “I just wanna help you baby,” he whispered softly. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to; just let me do my job as your alpha.”

“You’re not my alpha,” Jared whispered, biting into his bottom lip as his eyes met Jensen’s. Sure, Jensen was _going to be_ his alpha, but that still didn’t change the fact that they weren’t mated yet. “And until you are, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be doing this. Please let me go.” Jared was whimpering on the inside as he spoke the words, but he knew it was necessary. Last night Jensen may have stopped, but Jared didn’t trust him not to take this to a level he wasn’t comfortable with, so this couldn’t go any further. 

When Jared told him that he wasn’t his alpha, Jensen frowned, the words stinging a little more than they should have since he really didn’t even care about Jared. “You’re right,” Jensen nodded as he slowly pulled away from Jared. “I’m not your alpha yet, but I will be.” Turning, Jensen grabbed a pair of clean boxers and some jeans, yanking them on over his body. “You should go take care of that before we head downstairs.”

As soon as he saw the look on Jensen’s face at his words, Jared felt like a real jerk. He wasn’t sure why he felt so bad because really, they barely knew each other and this was more of an arranged mating than anything, but Jared still felt like a jerk. Nevertheless, he quickly moved into the bathroom and started stroking himself, trying to get this over with as soon as possible. Jared had never been like your typical teenage boy after all, so he wasn’t one to pleasure himself often, but this was a special case. 

About one hour, two failed attempts on his own, and ten minutes of dry humping with Jensen, Jared finally managed to get himself under control enough to show himself in public. Of course, Jensen had a smug grin on his lips the whole time, which pissed Jared off but he was doing his best to ignore it as they walked into the main dining hall, Jared taking his seat beside Jeffrey and giving the older wolf one of his many looks, letting Jeffrey know they needed to talk when breakfast was over.

**~~**

Once the last wolf left the table, Jared quickly grabbed Jensen and held him in his seat as he turned towards Jeffrey, eyes almost pleading. “So, did you hear anything from Rob? When can we do this ceremony?” He wanted to get this done today if possible because he knew that he would never truly be satisfied now until he was able to give himself fully to Jensen, which wasn’t going to happen until they were mated. His pack’s rules specifically stated that he was to remain a virgin until he was mated, though it was becoming harder and harder with each passing minute he was with Jensen. Something inside of him was calling out to Jensen and even if Jensen didn’t know it, he was answering, which was making this very difficult for Jared.

Sure, Jared knew that it was probably hard for Jensen too, but he didn’t really care about that too much. As bad as it sounded, he only cared that he was on the brink of a mental breakdown here. It was like there were two parts of him and one was trying to hold on to the pack’s rules and values while the other was desperately trying to break free and get at Jensen. Sooner or later, Jared knew that defiant part of him was going to manage to get free and if that happened, Jared would be a disgrace to the pack. He couldn’t allow that, which meant this whole mating thing needed to be done quickly.

It wasn’t hard to tell that there was something wrong with Jared, and Jeffrey had a pretty good idea of what it may be. He had been around enough wolves in his lifetime that he could spot when a beta was in heat, which was precisely what was wrong with Jared. Personally, Jeffrey had never experienced it, but he had been there with Sam when she went through it and Gerald had complained to him about it when Sharon had been going through it, so he knew a few things. “Yes, I was able to get ahold of Rob,” Jeffrey assured Jared, smiling at the look of relief the younger wolf was giving him. “He said as long as the two of you are ready, he has no problem swinging by here tomorrow for the ceremonies.”

At the news, Jared breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Jensen was just as ready for this as he was. Maybe even more so if he took into account how badly Jensen was trying to get into his pants. “We’re definitely ready, Jeff,” Jared assured the older man with a nod. “Tonight, you said? Rob can be here tonight and we can get this done with?” When Jeffrey nodded, Jared smiled, returning Jeffrey’s nod. “O-Okay,” he nearly whispered. “Um…we should tell the pack, right? I mean, they have a right to know that their beta I getting mated and they’re about to have a new alpha, don’t they?” honestly, Jared wasn’t sure how this whole thing worked. Obviously, he hadn’t been around when Gerald and Sharon had been mated, so he’d never gone through this before. 

Smiling softly, Jeffrey gave his head a small nod. “Don’t worry about it, Jared,” he calmed, patting the younger wolf on the shoulder. “I’ll let everyone know that we’re having a ceremony today. Why don’t you and Jensen go have some fun? I’ll call for you when Rob gets here.” With that, Jeffrey got out of his chair and headed towards the door, giving Jensen and Jared another small smile before he was out the door. 

Although Jared wasn’t usually one to ignore Jeffrey’s orders, he didn’t really want to hang out with Jensen right now. It seemed like all they ever did while they hung out was dry hump because Jared couldn’t control himself and Jared didn’t really want that right now. He was too busy thinking to himself about how he was going to get out of this little plan Jeffrey had for them to notice what Jensen was doing until it was too late. His eyes widened as he jumped out of his chair, turning on his heels and glaring at Jensen. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, shaking his head. “Are you trying to piss me off?! Because it’s working!”

As soon as Jeffrey was out the door, Jensen couldn’t help but touch Jared. They were going to be mates soon enough and Jensen figured that meant he was allowed to touch the other man. After all, wasn’t that what lovers did; touch each other? He started off slowly, just rubbing Jared’s shoulder before his hand slid lower, down over Jared’s abdomen, a soft moan escaping him. Jared didn’t seem to care that he was touching him, so Jensen moved his hand lower, breathing in Jared’s scent as his soon-to-be mate’s pheromones began to kick into overdrive. Just as Jensen’s hand landed on Jared’s crotch, Jared jumped up and started freaking out like he didn’t want this. “What’s wrong with you, now?” Jensen asked as he rolled his eyes, feeling like he was getting mixed signals now. “You didn’t stop me as soon as I touched you, so I figured you didn’t mind. I’m not trying to piss you off, but I sure am doing a damn good job of it, huh Jared?!”

Jared was trying to be nice to Jensen, but Jensen was making it so hard for him. “Just…don’t touch me until after tonight, okay?” he offered, figuring he could hang out with Jensen as long as he agreed to this one stipulation. “Once we’re mated, you can touch me all you want, just not until then. I…don’t trust you not to break any rules.” It was a little harsh, but it was the truth and Jared thought Jensen deserved that. “Can you do that for me?”

If there was one thing he hated more than Jared’s rules, it was being told what to do. But Jensen knew the only way he could be around Jared was if he agreed to this one thing, so he reluctantly nodded, letting the younger man know that he would play nice. “Fine,” he mumbled, though he wasn’t all that happy about it. “I won’t touch you.” Moving now so that he was standing, Jensen pushed past Jared, making sure their bodies didn’t touch as he griped, “You didn’t seem to have a problem with me touching you this morning.”

A small sigh escaped Jared when Jensen moved past him, the younger man feeling a little bad about having to lay down the law, especially after what Jensen just said. It was true; he hadn’t had a problem with Jensen touching him this morning when he realized that no matter what he did, he couldn’t get himself off without Jensen’s help. Did that mean he was using Jensen? No, that didn’t sound like something he would do. Though, it did explain why he felt like such an asshole now. “That isn’t true,” he argued as he followed Jensen out of the main dining room. “You offered to help me and I let you. That’s not breaking any rules. It’s…borderline, but it’s not breaking any. And you just cupped me in the middle of the dining room! How did you expect me to react, Jensen?”

When Jared grabbed his elbow to make him stop, Jensen rounded on the other man, yanking his arm out of Jared’s grasp. “I don’t know, Jared!” he answered honestly, his anger with the young beta rising. “What do you want me to say, huh? That I don’t like not being able to touch you? Well, I don’t! Do you want me to admit that I want to have sex with you? Because I do! I like sex, Jared! That’s just who I am. And to have you walk around and tell me that I can’t… _claim_ you is really pissing me off. So, whatever you want Jared. I agreed to your stupid terms, so can we just forget it, please?!”

To hear Jensen putting it all out there like that made Jared feel even worse. But this was for the best and Jensen needed to just lay off him for a while. This was the first time Jared was doing this, so it wasn’t like he knew what the hell he was doing here! “Yeah, fine, we can forget about it,” Jared mumbled as he followed Jensen out of the mansion and into the warm spring sun. It felt nice to be able to enjoy the sun without having to worry about anything else in the world. Jared rarely got to relax like this because he had always worried about finding a mate since his father had gotten sick. Now, he had his mate walking a few feet ahead of him, even if he wasn’t sure this is what he wanted anymore.

Really, there was nothing wrong with Jensen that Jared could see right off the bat. He was hot as hell, but he did kind of have a bad attitude. And he pouted when he didn’t get his way, Jared was learning. Like now, he wasn’t even walking with Jared because he was mad at him for laying down ground rules. Jared wasn’t going to let it get to him too much though because he could kind of understand where Jensen was coming from. He felt it too, not that Jensen cared. But they were under strict Padalecki clan laws and that meant more to Jared than sexual release. Besides, it wasn’t like Jared hadn’t allowed Jensen to help him earlier. Then again, maybe that was the problem. 

Because he was so lost in his thoughts… _again_ …Jared didn’t see the two young men running at him until they tackled him to the ground, wrestling with him and giving him a noogie. “Oh, Chad, get off me! Milo, come on!” Jared chuckled, pushing at his cousins. “What was that for?” he asked as he allowed Chad to pull him off the ground. He knew the look in their eyes and he knew that it probably wasn’t going to end well for him. More noogies and a lot of being made fun of was in his future he was sure. 

Before either Milo or Chad could answer, they were both tackled to the ground and there was a large wolf snarling over them, causing Jared to gasp softly. “Jensen, no!” Jared yelled, holding his hand out to the wolf. “Leave them alone. They weren’t trying to hurt me.” Thankfully, Jensen moved off the two, whining softly before he turned and ran into the woods, leaving Jared alone to deal with his cousins. “I’m sorry, guys. He must have thought you were attacking me, or something,” Jared apologized, eyes scanning the tree line to see if he could catch a glimpse of Jensen. 

“Jesus, he has some anger management to deal with, doesn’t he?” Chad asked, rubbing the back of his neck and just hoping that the attack hadn’t done any major damage. He had a whole bunch of practical jokes for various people up his sleeve and he needed to be at his very best, as well as Milo, so he hoped he didn’t get hurt either. It would have been terrible to lose his partner in crime because Jared’s new beau was a little too possessive.

A small chuckle escaped Jared when Chad suggested that Jensen had some anger management issues. He really hit the nail on the head right there, didn’t he? “I guess,” Jared mumbled, turning his attention to the wolves that were actually with him right now instead of thinking about Jensen. “So, what did you guys want?” he asked, figuring if they were here, there had to be a reason. Not that they never came around to visit, or anything, but usually they had a favor to ask, or some big news to give. 

Smiling widely, Milo slapped Jared on the shoulder. “Oh come on, like you don’t know!” Milo shrieked, the smile still firmly in place. “You’re getting hitched tonight!” When Jared finally showed some sign that he knew what they were talking about, Milo turned his attention towards Chad briefly before looking at Jared again. “So, did you pick your best man yet? Because I think I would be a good choice for that category. Right Chad?” he asked, knowing that there was no way Chad would agree, but he wanted to rub it in his face that Jared was going to pick him. 

The only answer he received was a snorted laugh as Chad shook his head. “Don’t listen to him, Jared. You know who would be the better man to choose for that role, right?” Chad clearly thought it was him, even if Milo wasn’t going to agree with him. They had been arguing about it the whole way over here, but they still hadn’t agreed on the fact that Chad was the better choice. At least Jared would be able to see through Milo’s little scam and pick Chad.

In all honesty, Jared hadn’t given any thought as to who was going to be the best man because he had been too worried about getting this over and done with so these urges could be taken care of. Now that he was thinking about it though, there was no way he could pick just one. He was friends with almost everyone in the pack and he would feel bad having to single one out. Then again, it was kind of tradition, or whatever and Jensen was probably going to have a best man, so he figured he should too. But not Chad or Milo because he’d feel bad picking just one of them. He’d have to figure this out later. After all, the wedding wasn’t happening until later tonight, so he had time.

He merely shrugged in answer before he pat both of them on the shoulder. “I’ll keep you guys in the loop. I haven’t really thought about it yet, but don’t worry, the minute I figure it out, you’ll be the first ones to know,” he assured the two, hoping that was good enough for them. And if it wasn’t, that was just too bad. He had more pressing issues at hand; like trying to find Jensen now that he’d stormed off. They still had things to talk about and plans to make. As much as Jared hated it, they still needed to talk about the kiss that was going to take place at the ceremony. His family was going to be there, so it couldn’t be too fresh, but if it was too G-rated, he probably would have been made fun of by his friends. It was a lot of pressure to have placed on him.

Just as he was about to leave, Chad stopped him. “So, which one of you is going to be the bride and which one is going to be the groom?” he asked, trying to keep the smirk off his face, though as soon as Milo started laughing, he couldn’t help himself. He had wanted to ask Jared that since they found out about Jensen, but he figured it would have been best to do it when Jensen wasn’t around. After all, they didn’t know much about the alpha and he didn’t want to upset him too badly before he married into the pack. Not when he had so many plans for the alpha once he and Jared were married. 

Chad’s question just brought up another point in Jared’s growing list of things to ask Jensen. He was probably going to be the bride so to speak because he was the beta wolf, but he wasn’t sure. Nevertheless, he couldn’t let the two of them get away with making fun of him like that, a deep frown coming to his lips as he playfully slapped Chad’s hand away from him. “Shut up, you jerk,” he chuckled as he shook his head. “That’s it, you’re both off the list of possible best men.” He couldn’t help but laugh as he heard the two squawking behind him as he jogged into the woods to begin his search for Jensen.

**~~**

There were only two hours left before the wedding and Jensen was still nowhere to be seen. Jared had searched the woods until Jeffrey started calling for him and he hadn’t found Jensen or even any sign that Jensen had been in the woods earlier that day. He couldn’t even track his scent because it wasn’t there. It was like Jensen had slipped into the woods and then vanished. Maybe this was his way of telling Jared they were through and he could find another alpha, which kind of hurt Jared’s feelings, though he wasn’t sure why. After all, it wasn’t like Jared had any kind of feelings towards Jensen, right?

As soon as Jared stepped into the bathroom to grab a quick shower, he heard his bedroom door closing, alerting the young beta. He instantly recognized the scent, moving from the bathroom and into the main bedroom area with a small smile on his face. “Hey,” he whispered when Jensen realized that he’d come into the room. “Where have you been? I went looking for you in the woods, but I couldn’t find you.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared thought about how he wanted to word his next question, knowing that Jensen might think he was having second thoughts about this, but he just had to know for sure. “Jen, are you…I mean…don’t you want to do this? Because we don’t have to. I can just tell Jeffrey that…you never came back and we can just go our separate ways.” Jared wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted, but he felt that it was best to give Jensen the option, at least.

“I came back before the wedding, didn’t I?” Jensen asked as he stripped out of the muddy T-shirt he was wearing. When Jared nodded, Jensen returned the gesture, popping the button on his jeans before tugging those off as well. “I went back to my old place,” he explained as he pulled on the dress slacks that he and Jared were expected to wear tonight. “There was something that I left there and I wanted to get it back before some low life shacked up there and stole it, or something.” With his place being empty now, he knew some other lone wolf was going to call it their home, which kind of pissed him off. Then again, he’d definitely upgraded moving into the mansion with Jared. 

Although Jensen didn’t seem like he was trying to bail out, his answer really wasn’t sitting too well with Jared. He needed a real answer and Jensen just wasn’t giving it to him. Really, all Jensen was doing was beating around the bush. “So…was that a yes? You want to go through with this? And that’s why you came back?” Jared asked, wincing slightly when Jensen turned his gaze towards him. The older man looked annoyed and Jared just hoped that he wasn’t about to explode and cause a scene. Knowing his family, they were probably outside listening to their conversation right now.

Slowly, Jensen walked towards Jared, closing the short distance between the two of them even as Jared backed away like he was scared Jensen was going to break the golden rule that he not touch Jared until after the ceremony. Once he had Jared backed into the wall and his hands were on either side of Jared’s head, Jensen asked, “Do you still want to go through with this, Jared? Because it seems to me that you’re just looking for a reason to get rid of me. And if that’s the case, then just tell me. I’ll leave and you won’t ever have to deal with me again.” Moving his head a little closer so that his and Jared’s lips were just a breath apart, Jensen whispered, “Just say the word, Jared, and I’ll go.”

For a split second, Jared had half a mind to lean in and crush his lips against Jensen’s plush, irresistible ones, but he refrained. After all, he’d made the rule that they weren’t allowed to touch, so it really would have looked bad if he broke it. So he merely nodded, licking his lips because they were tingling at the thought of kissing Jensen before he ducked under the alpha’s arm. “Good. I’m glad to hear that you’re not having second thoughts about this because by now Jeffrey’s already let everyone know this is happening and the pack is expecting a wedding and then the traditional mating ceremony later tonight.” It wasn’t exactly an answer to Jensen’s question because Jared honestly wasn’t sure. On one hand, he was worried about being mated to someone like Jensen because he was an outsider and he seemed to be into sex a little too much for someone as inexperienced as Jared; on the other hand, Jared knew his pack needed an alpha, a leader, and that role fell on him because he was the beta and his mate would be the alpha. They really couldn’t wait any longer. The clan was already falling apart since Gerald had passed and Jared had a feeling it was only going to get worse. The sooner he and Jensen did this, the better it would be for the both of them and the pack.

Jensen sighed softly when Jared pulled away from him again, hoping like hell that when this whole mating ceremony, or whatever the hell it was, took place that Jared would stop doing that. Although he didn’t really look like it, and most people had no idea about this side of him unless they’d been with him before, Jensen was a very affectionate person. Not being able to touch Jared was really getting to him and Jensen knew that if it continued after they were mated, he was going to go crazy. “Well then I guess it’s a good thing I don’t plan on backing out, huh?” Jensen asked as he tugged his white dress shirt on, buttoning it up almost the whole way before he pulled his black jacket on. 

It was probably wrong to stare at someone while he was getting dressed, but Jared couldn’t help it. Jensen looked good in a tux and Jared kind of couldn’t wait to get his hands on him. Of course, he knew that was probably just his heat talking, but he didn’t care. Whatever it was, he wanted to touch Jensen and rip that tux off him before they fell into bed and fucked each other’s brains out. Okay, he really needed to focus on something else before he managed to get himself too worked up. “Yeah, I guess,” he answered with a small smile. “Well, I have to get in the shower so I can get ready, so I’ll see you out there.”

Before Jared closed the door to the bathroom, he poked his head out and added, “Oh and Jensen, when we kiss, try not to make it too R-rated. My family is going to be out there and they probably don’t want to see you tongue-fucking me, all right?” His cheeks turned red as he closed the door because he had used such language, but Jensen would understand what he meant. Usually, Jared wasn’t one to swear a lot, but maybe he was hanging out with the potty mouths of the pack like Milo and Chad a little too much. Hell, maybe it was even his sister because she had been swearing a little much lately. Jared was sure that had something to do with her new girlfriend, Sandy, but he wasn’t going to point fingers around his sister. That was a good way to get his ass kicked. 

Not surprisingly, Jensen was already gone by the time Jared was out of the shower, which he was glad about. He hadn’t really wanted Jensen to see him in his tux before the wedding because that was bad luck. Or, at least that’s what his sister had told him when he spoke to her earlier that day. Jared didn’t really know much about weddings and mating ceremonies, but he was about to find out more the hard way he supposed. Even now he was going through the check-list his sister had given him in his head: Tom had agreed to be his best man, and he had Misha, Milo, and Chad as groomsmen. He’d also taken the liberty of asking Richard to be one of Jensen’s groomsmen because he knew that the only people Jensen knew here were Christian and Steve, which only left him one groomsman. Mike was the usher and Jeffrey was going to be the one to give Jared away, so to speak. Finally, Sebastian was in charge of making the after party rock and Matt was in charge of keeping Sebastian in check; Sebastian was his mate, so it only seemed fair that he’d have to take care of him.

Everything was ready as far as Jared was concerned. Now all they needed to do was repeat after Rob and put the rings that Sophia and Sandy had picked up on each other’s fingers and at least half of this would be over. The mating ceremony wasn’t what Jared was worried about though because that was just a kiss and then some dancing before Jensen and Jared were expected to retire to their bedroom and start their honeymoon. That could last for weeks and if nothing else, it would give Jared some time to be alone and some much needed peace and quiet. After all, Jensen couldn’t have sex with him every minute of every day. Sure, wolves had heightened stamina, but it wasn’t anywhere near that heightened. 

Giving his room one last glance to make sure he didn’t forget anything, Jared walked out the door and met up with Jeffrey on the front patio. Jeffrey cleaned up real nice and he was sure that Samantha really appreciated the times when her mate had to get into a suit. Jared was sure she was close by looking radiant as always. Everyone always managed to look their best when it was time for a formal ceremony. And Jared was sure they were all just itching to get out of their skin and morph into their fur. He knew he was. It kind of made him wish their ancestors hadn’t insisted on doing this human marriage; they were wolves. They didn’t need to act like humans as far as Jared was concerned. But who was he to argue with tradition?

He was led out onto the lawn and his eyes widened slightly when he saw how Rob had put the place together. There were lights and decorations littering the lawn and there were large tables with tons of food in the centers off to the side of the yard so they weren’t in the way of the chairs for the guests. Jensen was standing at the end of the large white carpet Jared was expected to walk down and all of their groomsmen were standing with him. Jared felt his heart start to speed up with anticipation and he smiled softly at Jeffrey before giving him the small nod to let Jeffrey know he was ready to start walking.

Two simple words ended the wedding almost as soon as it started. “I do,” Jared nearly whispered, biting into his bottom lip as Jensen slid the silver band onto his left ring finger. As werewolves, they had special rings that wouldn’t get lost when they morphed, which let every other wolf know that they were taken. Sometimes mates got matching tattoos as well, but Jared didn’t want to get one of those yet. Maybe when he and Jensen had been married longer, he’d think about matching tattoos. He couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips when they were told they could kiss, meeting Jensen halfway as their lips touched. Just like he had requested, Jensen managed to keep the kiss clean, giving just enough tongue so that he wouldn’t get made fun of for it later. All in all, it turned out pretty well, surprisingly.


	4. Chapter Four

Jensen could appreciate that the pack wanted to see them as an official couple in their wolf forms, but he was getting a little tired of playing nice for the pack. Jared looked beautiful as a wolf, all white with those same innocent hazel eyes he has when he’s in his human form and Jensen just wanted to take Jared back to their room and start the honeymoon phase he’s been told so much about by Chris and Steve. He happened to have been there when they went through it and they hadn’t wanted to be bothered for five days. Five days of nothing but sex with Jared was definitely something Jensen wanted to take advantage of! But he couldn’t because they were still socializing with the pack. Well, the ones who were willing to talk to them.

It was no secret that some of the pack members were either weary of him, or just flat out didn’t like him. He was pretty good at telling the two apart; Tom and Misha as well as their mates Mike and Richard were weary of him, whereas David and Jake just didn’t like him. Jensen had a feeling David didn’t like him because he wanted to be the pack alpha and Jared had chosen him, and Jake was like David’s little sidekick, which explained why he didn’t like Jensen either. Needless to say, Jared and Jensen steered clear of David and Jake, but Jared had insisted on socializing with Tom, Mike, Misha, and Richard because they were his friends. Luckily, Jared hated David as much as Jensen did.

After what seemed like forever, Jared finally allowed Jensen to lead them back to the mansion, both men morphing back into their human forms once they were inside, both men pulling their suits back on quickly in case anyone else came into the mansion. Since the ceremony was still in progress for the wolves who wanted to stay and party longer, there was no one in the mansion, so Jensen started in on Jared before they even made it up the stairs, kissing and licking every inch of Jared he could reach through the younger man’s tux. Unfortunately for Jensen, that wasn’t a lot of skin, though he planned to remedy that situation real quick.

He all but shoved Jared into their room once they reached the top of the stairs, kicking the door closed behind him as he got to work on getting Jared out of his clothes. Once he had the jacket off, he was a lot less gentle, ripping the white dress shirt open, uncaring of the little buttons that flew in every direction as he ripped the fabric off Jared’s body. As he worked on the button and zipper of Jared’s dress slacks, he pulled back a little, letting Jared get at his clothes like the younger man was trying to do. His lips crushed against Jared’s again as they undressed each other, nipping at Jared’s bottom lip before he delved right back in, tongue mapping out Jared’s mouth and memorizing the taste of his mate.

As soon as Jared had all of Jensen’s clothes off, Jensen shoved Jared onto the bed, blanketing Jared’s body with his own, lips once again devouring Jared’s. Jensen didn’t want the contact to ever stop and he sure as hell didn’t ever want to stop kissing Jared because he tasted so damn good. Finally, after so long of having to wait and not being able to have what he wanted, Jensen was allowed to explore Jared’s body properly, and he planned on doing just that. Pulling back so they could both get some much needed air, Jensen turned his attention to kissing every inch of Jared’s skin, taking advantage of the fact that Jared was naked and left completely exposed for Jensen.

When Jensen started in on his neck, Jared’s back arched off the bed as he moaned softly, letting Jensen know this was a good place to torture Jared for a while. It was clear that Jensen was experienced, which was a little intimidating, though Jared wasn’t going to let it get to him. As long as he didn’t think about Jensen with other people, he could almost pretend that it hadn’t happened and they were both sharing their first time together. At least that way Jared wouldn’t feel like such an inexperienced lover. “Ungh…Jensen,” he whispered into Jensen’s ear as Jensen started working on his collarbone, Jared’s fingers carding through Jensen’s short hair.

A few more nips and kisses to Jared’s collarbone and Jensen was moving on, lips sliding down Jared’s chest, teasing one nipple, then the other. He then slid lower, nipping around Jared’s navel before dipping his tongue inside briefly, holding Jared’s hips down when he tried to buck up and get friction against his cock, which elicited a small whimper from the younger wolf. “Shh…” Jensen whispered softly as he pressed a kiss on each side of Jared’s hips. “I’m gonna take care of you, baby. Just be patient.”

Although Jared believed Jensen was going to take care of him, he wasn’t sure if he could be patient. The sexual tension had been building between them for days and now that they were both naked and so close to having sex, Jared was nearly losing his mind. It was strange because he had never really been interested in sex like all of the other men in the pack, probably because he was the pack beta and he had better things to focus his attention on, but Jensen just brought out his lustful side. He knew the appeal Jensen was getting from making him wait, but he didn’t appreciate it at all. “Jensen, please…ungh…please?” he begged softly, biting into his bottom lip to stifle some of the more embarrassing noises threatening to break from him. 

Again, Jensen shushed Jared, promising that he was going to get there in good time. He had plans for Jared that were going to take a while to execute. But in the end, Jared would be well-sated and he would probably thank Jensen for making him feel so damn amazing. Figuring that he had made Jared wait long enough and he deserved at least _some_ kind of reward, Jensen dipped his head and took just the tip of Jared’s cock into his mouth, sucking softly as he tongued the slit playfully. He had to hold Jared’s hips down again because he didn’t want the younger wolf choking him, but he was all right with that. It meant he could go at his own pace, which is exactly what he wanted. 

Another deep groan was ripped from Jared’s throat when Jensen took his dick into his mouth. Just the thought of Jensen’s full, plush lips wrapped around his cock was enough to make Jared cum and now that it was actually happening, Jared didn’t stand a chance. But it wasn’t enough. Jensen wasn’t giving him enough to let him cum, which dragged another small whimper out of him as Jared once again carded his fingers through Jensen’s hair. “J-Jen…please…I need…please?” Jared whimpered, trying to move his hips, but Jensen had them pinned to the mattress tightly. 

Slowly, Jensen took more of Jared into his mouth, moaning around the younger man’s length, a wide smile coming to his lips when he heard Jared moaning again. He kept up the slow pace, taking only a few inches of Jared in at a time and stopping for a few seconds to tease Jared before he took more in until he reached the base of Jared’s shaft, the head of Jared’s cock bottoming out against the back of Jensen’s throat. Another smile came to his lips when Jared nearly howled with pleasure as Jensen swallowed around his shaft, giving Jared as much pleasure as he possibly could without making him cum too early. Then again, Jared was in heat, so there was a chance Jensen could make him cum more than once this evening, so he wasn’t sure why he was so worried about it.

His body was on fire and Jared was sure he was going to die before the night was over. Jensen was hitting all of the right spots and making Jared go crazy and then he was repeating the action and just driving Jared wild. He was sure that Jensen was trying to kill him just so he could revive him and do it all over again. “Jensen, please…” he whimpered again, feeling his balls drawing up tight against his body. Jensen was growling softly against Jared’s cock and the vibrations were getting to be too much for the young beta. “Please…gonna cum if you…keep doing that, Jensen…please?” Jared warned.

Before Jared could push Jensen off him, he was cumming, his back arching off the mattress again as he spilled his seed down Jensen’s throat. To his surprise, Jensen swallowed every drop before pulling off his cock, kissing the tip one last time. “Mmm…you taste good, Jared,” Jensen complimented, smiling down at Jared before he captured the young werewolf’s lips once more, letting Jared taste himself on Jensen’s tongue. Slowly, he pulled back, moving to sit up on his knees and then sliding up so that he was straddling Jared’s face. His hand was moving lazily over his own dick as he looked down at Jared with a small smile. “Now you do me,” he whispered, biting into his bottom lip as he pressed his cock against Jared’s bottom lip.

If Jared would have said he didn’t want to suck Jensen’s cock, he would have been lying because he really, _really_ did. But he was scared. He was still a virgin, after all, and he had no idea what he was doing here. What if he was awful at sucking cock and he just embarrassed himself and made Jensen mad? Jared didn’t think he could handle that humiliation. “I don’t…know how,” Jared finally admitted, head turning away from Jensen so the temptation was at least out of his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

The look on Jared’s face when he admitted that he had no idea what he was doing broke Jensen’s heart. It wasn’t like Jensen didn’t know what he had been walking into when they came into this room, but he didn’t care. Jared had made it very clear he was still a virgin, and Jensen was fine with that. Hell, he was more than fine with that; he _loved_ it. The idea of Jared only ever taking one cock and that cock was his had the alpha inside him growling with pleasure. But Jared didn’t see his inexperience as sexy, apparently, and Jensen was determined to fix that. After all, it was his job as Jared’s alpha to take care of Jared and teach him the ropes. By the time Jensen was done with Jared, he was going to be the perfect little bitch.

He gently cupped Jared’s cheek before turning Jared’s head to face him once more, smiling down at his boy. “Shhh…” he whispered, giving his head a small shake. “Don’t worry, baby. I know you don’t know what you’re doing. Let me show you.” Again, he pressed the head of his cock against Jared’s bottom lip, rubbing it along Jared’s lip to get himself wet with Jared’s saliva, his pre-cum leaving a shiny trail over every inch of Jared it touched, causing Jensen to growl softly in pleasure. “Just go slow,” he whispered, watching as Jared sucked just the head of his cock into his mouth, using Jensen’s technique and tonguing Jensen’s slit. “Mmm…yeah, Jared, s’good,” he praised, pushing his hips towards Jared’s face a little further, making sure to move slow so he didn’t force himself into Jared’s mouth before he was ready.

It was a slow and almost painful process, but Jared finally had Jensen bottomed out against the back of his throat, Jensen’s head tossed back in pleasure as he moaned softly. “Mm…breathe through your nose, baby,” he instructed, feeling Jared’s throat closing up as he began to panic. As soon as Jared started breathing through his nose though, he seemed to be fine, even swallowing around Jensen like he had done with Jared. After a few minutes, once Jared got a little more used to him, Jensen started moving his hips, fucking Jared’s mouth nice and slow, a prelude for what he was going to do to Jared’s body in a few minutes. “Ungh…yeah Jay, harder. God baby, please?”

Jared did his best to do what Jensen was asking him to, figuring he was doing a pretty good job if the way Jensen was moaning and rocking into his mouth was any consolation. However, Jensen pulled away from him sooner than Jared had expected, the young beta pushing onto his elbows as he watched Jensen reaching for something on the floor beside the bed. “Did-Did I do something wrong?” Jared asked, needing to know if he had so he could avoid the wrongdoing in the future. As Jensen’s mate, he was expected to be able to please his alpha. If he couldn’t manage that, then he was really no good for Jensen.

“No baby, you were great,” Jensen whispered as he settled himself onto the bed again, dropping the item he’d grabbed from the bag on the floor onto the bed so he could cup Jared’s face in his hands. “You were better than great; you were amazing,” he corrected, leaning in and pressing his lips to Jared’s softly. “Just didn’t want to cum in your mouth. I have better plans for us, Jay.” He kissed Jared one more time before he gently pushed his beta onto his back again, repositioning himself so that he was kneeling between Jared’s spread legs. Jensen then grabbed the lube that he had pulled from the bag, popping the cap open with his thumb. 

Because he was in heat, Jared’s hole was already slick, but since this was his first time, Jensen wanted to be extra careful. Extra lube never hurt anybody as far as Jensen knew. He squeezed a decent dollop onto his palm before he stroked himself a few times, using the extra lube to get his fingers slicked up. “Tell me if I’m going too fast or you want me to stop, okay?” Jensen instructed, slinging Jared’s left leg over his right shoulder. Jensen bit into his bottom lip as his index finger teased Jared’s tight pucker, kissing and nipping along Jared’s left thigh as his mate moaned softly in pleasure.

When Jensen’s index finger first breached him, Jared tensed, hissing in a soft breath at the invasion. “Shh…relax baby,” Jensen whispered as he ran his free hand down Jared’s belly, softly caressing his lover’s skin. Jared did as he was told and the ache went away a little, Jared figuring that his body would accept any part of Jensen easily because he had been so needy for him the last few days. Not that he was complaining, of course. The less pain, the better in his opinion. After all, he’d seen Jensen naked before tonight and it wasn’t like he was lacking in the genital region; he was very well proportioned, which was another thing that made Jared kind of nervous. He just hoped that if it was going to hurt, the pain didn’t last long before it was overridden by the inevitable pleasure.

Once he thought Jared was ready for it, Jensen added a second finger, scissoring the digits inside Jared slowly, knowing that even with Jared’s body willingly accepting Jensen because he was in heat, this was going to hurt a little bit. He hadn’t been with many virgins, but he’d been with enough to know that preparation was key. If he went at this too fast, there was a chance he could hurt Jared, and that was the last thing he wanted. After a few more moments, Jensen added a third finger, biting into Jared’s thigh a little more roughly, growling possessively to let Jared know he was his, just in case there was any confusion. 

Finally, Jensen felt that Jared was ready for his cock and he pulled his fingers away from Jared, moving to sit on his knees once more. “Are you ready baby?” Jensen asked softly, leaning over Jared and pressing his face into the crook of the younger man’s neck, breathing in his beta’s scent before he kissed his skin. 

Was he ready? That was the dumbest question Jared had ever heard. Of course he was ready! “Mmm-hmm…” he mumbled, nodding slightly as Jensen kissed his way to Jared’s shoulder. Suddenly, Jared remembered that they were forgetting a very crucial part of sex, causing him to panic a little bit. “Wait…” he whispered, scrunching his shoulders up to make Jensen stop kissing his neck and shoulder. “Jensen, w-wait,” he repeated, pulling his head back to look at Jensen’s face when the older man pulled back. “Do-Do you have a condom?” he asked, cheeks reddening at the question.

Fuck, a condom! Jensen knew that he had been forgetting something when he left the room after Chris and Steve gave him their pep talks about how happy he was going to make Jared. Dammit, he couldn’t believe that he’d forget something like this. Hell, Chris and Steve should have reminded him about a damn condom! “No, fuck!” he whispered hotly, biting into his bottom lip as he pulled away from Jared further. “Shit…Chris and Steve probably have one. I could go ask them. I can be back in a few minutes.”

The thought of Jensen leaving and asking Chris and Steve for a condom had Jared’s cheeks turning an even darker shade of red as the young beta shook his head. “N-No, don’t do that,” he whispered, reaching for Jensen and pulling him back against his body. “I should have one in the nightstand.” It took Jensen a few minutes to find it, but sure enough, Jared had one in the way back of the top drawer in his nightstand. “My…dad gave it to me a few years back when he thought I was old enough to talk about sex.” Jared remembered that day as if it had only been yesterday.

He had been thirteen and his father grabbed him after breakfast and handed him the condom. His voice had been gruff when he ordered Jared to take the condom and remember to use it if he was going to have someone fuck him. Jared could tell even then that his father was disgusted with who he was, but Jared had taken the rubber and promised he’d remember to use it when the time came. At least he could keep that promise to his father. Besides, he was too young to get pregnant. Maybe one day, but not today.

Jensen made quick work of getting the condom onto his erect member, tossing the package across the room as he shoved Jared onto his back again, the younger man having sat up when he realized they didn’t have a condom. Now there was nothing that could stop them from having sex, which is just what Jensen wanted. He kept his movements slow as he pushed into Jared, kissing and nipping at the beta’s lips to distract him from the pain that he was feeling. Soon, it would all be replaced with pleasure, but until then, Jensen wanted to help in any way he could. Sure, it wasn’t a lot, but it was at least something.

As Jensen pushed into him, Jared gripped his alpha’s shoulders, focusing on the kisses and not the pain that was shooting up his spine. Thankfully, once Jensen was sheathed to the hilt inside him, the pain didn’t last long, fading away quickly and leaving only pleasure and a deep feeling of want. Jared quickly hooked his leg around Jensen’s thigh, keeping his alpha in place as his kisses grew hungrier and needier. “Jensen, please…fuck me,” Jared whispered desperately, already pushing back against Jensen’s cock inside him. “Please?”

It would have been cruel of Jensen not to give his beta what he needed, especially when he was begging so prettily, so Jensen began moving. He pulled his hips back, almost pulling completely out of Jared before he slammed back in, the bed rocking with their movements as they became more desperate and rougher. The way Jared was panting and moaning in his ear was enough to drive Jensen crazy, kicking his lust up a few notches. Just as he felt his balls drawing up against his body, Jensen let out a loud howl, head dropping to the crook of Jared’s neck as he sank his teeth into the tender flesh, marking Jared as his own. As Jensen bit Jared, they both came _hard_ , their bodies shuddering with the intensity of their combined orgasms.

When he finally released Jared’s skin from between his teeth, he’d drawn blood, barely remembering to roll off Jared before he collapsed onto the mattress. Now Jared was truly his. No one could take him away from Jensen and it had Jensen smiling softly. “Mmm…” he moaned as he rolled onto his side, arm wrapping around Jared’s waist, not caring that he was coating his arm with Jared’s cum. “We’re gonna have to get you on birth control so I don’t have to wear this damn thing,” Jensen mumbled as he tore the condom from his softening dick and tossed it into the trash before nuzzling into Jared’s neck, admiring his mark on his beta.

At this point, all Jared was capable of was a small nod to let Jensen know that he had been listening. He could only imagine how Jensen would feel without the rubber separating them if he felt that good with it on. His eyes were slipping closed before he even knew what was happening, the young wolf falling into a light sleep in the arms of his new alpha. When their honeymoon phase was over, they were going to have a lot to deal with, but for now, Jared just wanted to enjoy this peaceful bliss he felt in this moment. It was perfect.

**~~**

Just as Jensen had suspected, six days locked in a room with Jared doing nothing but having sex was amazing! It kind of made him wish they could go through another honeymoon phase, but Jared was insisting that they get out of the room and go deal with the pack now. In all honesty, Jensen knew it was a good idea. After all, he had a few things that he needed to get done before two lone wolves decided to skip town and not come back for a few decades. 

His first order of business was to initiate Chris and Steve into the pack. Of course, he’d had to argue with them a few hours before they agreed, but they finally said yes and they were just now finishing up with the ceremony. A few of the wolves, namely Jake and David, were giving both Chris and Steve dirty looks because they didn’t like outsiders coming into their pack. But this was Jensen’s pack now and if those idiots started anything, he would make sure to finish it. He had a feeling that was the only thing that was keeping David from attacking. After all, David may have been an ass, but he sure as _hell_ wasn’t stupid. It was really kind of unfortunate because Jensen would have taken great pleasure in kicking his ass. 

Now, Jared was sitting with Sophia on the lawn and Jensen was chatting with Steve and Chris, getting them up to speed on what he knew about the pack and the rules Jared was always yelling at him about. “So…did you know that Jensen is considered quite the bad boy around the campfire?” Sophia asked, pushing her over-sized sunglasses off her face so she could meet Jared’s eyes with her own. Clearly, her brother was both confused and not amused, so she merely shrugged as she let her glasses fall back over her eyes. “I’m just saying that he’s made quite a few enemies over the years, Jared. Maybe you should talk to him about it. I mean, I don’t want his past coming to bite him in the ass. If he gets screwed, we all get screwed.”

In all honesty, Jared wasn’t interested in what Jensen did as a lone wolf, even if he should have been. As far as Jared was concerned, Jensen was starting a new life here as their pack alpha and what was in the past could just stay there. He didn’t need to bring all that shit up and tarnish the reputation Jensen was trying to build here. “I’d rather not talk about his past,” Jared admitted to his sister, his eyes returning to the book he was reading. “I just want to focus on his future. On our future, you know?”

A small smile came to Sophia’s lips as she listened to her brother’s confession. “Aww, that’s cute, Jared,” she smiled, patting her brother on the shoulder because she knew it made him mad when she picked on him. Settling back in her seat the right way after chuckling at Jared’s bitch face, she added, “Still, it’s good to know where you stand with your mate. I mean, I’d want to know everything about Sandy if I was planning on spending the rest of my life with her. And that’s where we are right now. There are absolutely no secrets between the two of us, and it’s great.” Taking a sip of her Long Island Iced Tea, Sophia concluded, “I’m just suggesting that you try to get a little more information on him. How much do you actually know about him, anyway? And we’re supposed to trust him as our alpha? As _your_ mate? Call me a protective little sister, but I don’t think I can do that.”

Jared knew that getting his sister’s approval of Jensen was going to be tough, but it wasn’t like they had a choice in the matter. Jensen had come out of nowhere and won the battle to be Jared’s mate, and that meant something to them. Jared was Jensen’s mate and this was just something they were going to have to deal with. Of course, it wasn’t hard to tell that most of the wolves in the pack were weary of Jensen because he had been a lone wolf prior to becoming their alpha. But as a rule, they had to accept him, even if they didn’t want to. Besides, Jared was kind of curious to see where this mating was going to lead. He had kind of wished everyone would be happy for him, but it seemed all anyone else felt was concern. They just didn’t know Jensen like he did.

Over the last week, he and Jensen had grown pretty close in Jared’s opinion. Sure, the week had been filled with mind-blowing sex, sometimes until they both passed out from exhaustion, but during breaks when neither of them could get it up anymore without a few minutes to recover, they had lain in bed and just talked for hours. Jared knew Jensen pretty well if he did say so himself, and they didn’t have to share anything with the pack if Jensen wasn’t comfortable with it. Jared had learned that Jensen was private, and he was going to respect that about his mate. After all, he wouldn’t want someone to spill their guts about everything they knew about him. Sure, they’d known him all of his life and there really were no secrets about the pack beta, but the pack alpha could remain a mystery unless he stated otherwise. Jared surely wasn’t going to disclose the information they spoke about.

“I should go talk to Misha about maybe getting something together for the pack,” Jared explained, placing his book inside his sister’s bag. “I mean, we just added three new members and I think it’s important to really get everyone together and let them see no one is out to get anyone else.” Well, except David, but Jared didn’t think he would do anything rash. Hell, Jared wasn’t even sure David was up to anything, but they could never be too careful. After all, David had been pissed when Jensen was named alpha of the pack and Jared didn’t really want to take any chances there. 

Slowly, Jared made his way to where Misha was lounging with Richard, smiling at his former betrothed as Misha offered for him to take a seat. “Hey guys,” he greeted, sitting cross-legged on the ground across from the other wolves. “I was thinking that maybe we could get something set up to really welcome Chris, Steve and Jensen into the pack. I mean, we’ve had a lot of changes being made to our pack in the last week and I think people will be more eager to accept them if they understand that they don’t have any hidden motives, or anything.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared asked, “What do you think? Does that sound like a good idea, or am I just losing my mind here?”

If he was being honest, Misha was actually one of the wolves who wasn’t too keen on the newbies being accepted into the pack so readily. They didn’t know anything about them and Misha just wanted to make sure that Jared wasn’t getting in way over his head here. “Jay, you know that Tom and I, and well, everyone really, we see you as our little brother, right?” Misha asked softly, smiling when Jared nodded. “We just want to make sure you’re safe, and that’s the only reason we’re being so cautious about Jensen and the others. More so Jensen, but still, the other two could have their own agenda and they could be using Jensen to get to you. I mean, we don’t know anything for sure.”

Seeing that his words really got to Jared, Misha frowned, his attention resting on Richard for a moment. Richard was far more trusting of outsiders because he had actually been one before he mated with Misha, and he generally had a good sense about which ones to look out for. So far, he hadn’t had any issues with any of the new wolves, which had Misha figuring they were pretty good. “All right Jay,” he muttered when Richard gave him a small smile and a nod. “We can have the party. Kinda like a welcoming party, or something. I’ll see if Sebastian’s available to DJ and I’ll see if he can get something set up for later tonight.”

When Misha agreed to having the party, Jared’s face lit up, a wide smile breaking onto his lips as his dimples dented his cheeks. “Really?” he smiled, biting into his bottom lip. He felt kind of like a kid at Christmas time. If he could just get everyone to like Jensen and trust Jensen, he wouldn’t have to worry about people starting anything with him. After all, the last thing he needed was a war to break out inside his pack; his father would have been even more disappointed in him and Gerald probably would have been rolling over in his grave. Happily, Jared wrapped his arms around Misha, giggling when the two of them fell over because Misha hadn’t been ready for the assault. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jared laughed. “You’re the best Misha!”

**~~**

A deep frown marred Jensen’s lips as he turned his attention from the laughing wolves back to Chris and Steve who were currently making fun of him because he was the alpha of this pack now. It was one of their new past times Jensen was sure and he just kind of had to deal with it. After all, they could have left when he asked them to join the pack, but they chose to stay here and be with him. It really meant a lot to Jensen that his friends wanted to be with him more than they wanted to travel and see the world, so if he had to deal with being made fun of as a consequence, then he was more than happy to do so.

“So, for real though, how are things with Jared?” Steve asked with a small smile. “I mean, it looks like you’ve got yourself an amazing mate there. I would think you’d be…happier.” Steve hadn’t known Jensen as long as Christian had, but he knew enough about him to know when he wasn’t happy. Now, he seemed like he was trying to be happy, but there was something bothering him, and that didn’t really sit too well with Steve. When wolves mated, it was supposed to make them happier than they had been when they were alone, not more miserable.

The only answer Jensen gave at first was a small shrug. He really wasn’t sure how he felt about his and Jared’s relationship because he was a little worried that Jared might not be feeling the same way as he was. “It’s been good, I guess,” he answered finally, eyes ticking to Jared and Misha again before returning to Steve and Christian. “Teaching him how to have sex has been _great_. And he’s a really fast learner, so I can teach him more than one thing at a time and he just…gets it, you know?”

To the average person, Jensen would have seemed okay and he probably would have seemed happy as well, though Christian had known Jensen almost his whole life and he just knew there was something wrong. “So…then what’s wrong with you?” Christian asked, rolling his eyes at Jensen when he seemed to play it off as if Christian was the one who had something wrong with him. “Come on Jensen, I’ve known you for years and I can tell when there’s something bothering you. So, what is it? Did Jared do something wrong already?” He knew there was a chance that Jensen was just having trouble adjusting, but something was telling him there was more to the story.

Sometimes Jensen could just strangle Christian with his insights into everything because he could always tell when there was something else bothering him. “Nothing like that,” he mumbled with a small shake of his head. “I just…I don’t know what’s wrong. He’s always yellin’ at me about these stupid rules of the pack and it just seems so hard to remember everything but I feel like if I screw something up, Jared’s going to blow a gasket or something.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jensen shook his head. “And there’s more. Like Misha and Tom – they’re always watching me and taking in my every move like they’re waiting for me to screw something up so they can report it, or something. I can barely even touch Jared without one of them bristling about it.”

Frowning, Steve leaned forward in his seat a little bit. “Wait, you don’t think Jared’s cheating on you, do you?” he asked, knowing that if Jensen was under that impression, they needed to get that thought out of his head right now. As Jensen’s mate, Jared wouldn’t cheat because he knew the pack laws for one, and he also wouldn’t be able to cheat without feeling guilt that would nearly consume him. If Jared was cheating, especially with either Tom or Misha who both had mates of their own, serious consequences would surely take place.

Without even thinking about it, Jensen shook his head, knowing that Jared wasn’t cheating on him. “No, I know he’s not doing that. The thought of breaking a rule nearly has Jared having a heart attack, I could only imagine how he would feel if he was actually breaking a rule,” Jensen chuckled, still thinking Jared was so cute for following rules like they would come back and bite him in the ass if he broke even the smallest one. “I don’t know what it is, honestly. Maybe…I mean, the way this pack operates. I’ve never been part of a pack, as you know already and I’m just…having trouble getting used to it all.”

After Jensen was born, his father had been brutally murdered by another member of the pack, but there was no proof of that, so nothing had been done. Jensen’s mother, outraged by the fact that her husband’s murderer had been allowed to go free left the pack and branded herself, and ultimately her son, omega. When Jensen was seventeen, his mother had been murdered by another lone wolf after he brutally raped her, which left Jensen alone. Later, he’d gone back to the place where his mother had been killed and tracked her murderer down, killing him violently. So, Jensen had no idea how pack’s worked, except for the horrible things his mother had told him about them. He wasn’t sure what to feel about being the _alpha_ of a pack. But he did know one thing: if being mated to Jared meant he had to play his role, he was going to do it so he didn’t have to lose Jared.

Both Christian and Steve recognized the look in Jensen’s eyes as the alpha watched his mate, even if Jensen wouldn’t admit it. “You love him,” Steve smiled, taking Christian’s hand in his own as they gave each other a loving look. They had figured that Jensen would fall for the young beta when they first saw him that day Jensen broke up the alpha fight for Jared’s hand, but Jensen had insisted that he would never fall in love. According to Jensen, love and mating was just something that could drag a wolf down; a weakness. And no wonder the poor guy thought that with the way his parents had ended up. “I can see why. He’s a real special kid, isn’t he?”

When Steve suggested that he loved Jared, Jensen scoffed, shaking his head. “Oh come on, you’re kidding right?” he asked, chuckling softly. “I barely know him, Steve! I mean, I love having sex with him – _really_ love having sex with him – but I don’t love him.” Glancing back at Jared once more, Jensen frowned softly. “Love just drags you down. It makes you weak and leaves you vulnerable.” Turning his attention back to Steve, Jensen added, “I’ll never fall in love.” With that, Jensen stood, heading over to Sophia’s chair to talk to her for a while. He needed to find Jeffrey and he had a feeling she would know where her uncle was.

**~~**

“Excuse me?” a petite woman with auburn hair smiled as Jared turned his attention towards her, a small frown on his lips. “Hi, can you help me find Jensen Ackles? I heard he was here. I was hoping that I could surprise him. You see, today is his birthday and I booked us the sweetest little motel room a few minutes down the road and…well, I’m sure you know what we plan on doing there.” Her smile widened as she started looking around the yard, hoping to spot Jensen.

Jared frowned when the woman explained that she was looking for Jensen and then went on to say what she had planned on doing when she found him. Jensen was his mate and this woman coming here and acting as if Jensen was with her kind of pissed Jared off. But he wasn’t a fighter, the young wolf actually hating violence and arguments of any kind, though that didn’t mean he was going to let this woman think she had a chance with Jensen now. “Um…yeah, he’s somewhere around here. Who did you say you were again?” Jared asked, licking his lips as his eyes landed on Jensen, noticing his mate was laughing and talking with his sister and Sandy right now. Maybe if Jensen didn’t see her, then Jared could just make her go away quickly without causing a scene.

The woman’s smile was still firmly in place when she turned to look at Jared again. “I’m Danneel,” she explained as if her name meant anything to Jared. Rolling her eyes, she pulled her sunglasses down to reveal beautiful light brown eyes that seemed to pierce through Jared’s own hazels. “Jensen’s girlfriend,” she added then, frowning when Jared seemed to get angry about this. Annoyed, Danneel pushed her glasses back over her eyes. “Look, I don’t have all day, all right? Can you please just tell me where Jensen is?”

Before Jared had a chance to answer, Jensen was standing behind Danneel, a deep frown on his lips. “Danneel?” he asked, his frown only deepening when the woman turned to face him. “What the hell are you doing here?”


	5. Chapter Five

As soon as Danneel saw Jensen, her eyes lit up and her smile grew wider. She was clearly happy to see him, which had Jared a little suspicious since Jensen looked like he was pissed off because she was here. Maybe that meant she had been telling the truth and now Jensen was mad because his cover had been blown. But he and Jensen had been getting along very well lately as far as he knew and Jensen didn’t seem like the type who would cheat on his mate. Then again, this could have just been testament to the fact that Jensen and Jared had been forced to rush into this and neither of them knew each other very well.

When Danneel tried to wrap her arms around Jensen’s neck, Jensen quickly stopped her by grabbing her wrists and pushing them back down to her sides. “Jensen…come on baby,” she chuckled, trying to hug him again only to have Jensen stop her for the second time. “Don’t be like this,” she pouted. “I missed you so much while you were gone. And it’s your birthday tomorrow, Jenny. Now, I booked us a hotel room a few blocks from here and I think –”

“That’s enough, Danneel!” Jensen barked, quieting the young beta in front of him. He sighed in aggravation as he rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the headache that was forming there. “What are you trying to do?” he asked, frowning at the woman. About a year ago, Jensen had slept with Danneel because she had all but been begging him to and he’d intended to leave it at that. He only wanted her the one night, but she seemed to have grown attached to him, which was really getting annoying. “I thought you were back with Justin.”

Frowning, Danneel placed her hand on her hip as she rolled her eyes behind the glasses. “Yeah, so?” she asked, quickly moving towards Jensen again in an attempt to hug him, which he dodged. “I don’t want to be with Justin anymore, Jenny. I wanna be with you. And I know you want me too. Just admit it.” Suddenly, she realized that there was something different about Jensen; a smell that hadn’t been there the last time she saw him. “Oh my God,” she finally whispered, turning her attention back to Jared. “You’ve mated with another wolf?” she asked, her voice sounding almost hurt. “And a _man_ none the less! Jensen, how could you?!” This time when she reached for Jensen, she shoved him backwards. “I thought you weren’t looking for a mate. And that mating and love was just a weakness?!”

She went to shove Jensen again, but Jared snarled and grabbed her elbow, forcing her away from Jensen. “Stop it!” her ordered, stepping between Jensen and Danneel in case she tried to touch him again. It may have just been his predatory side kicking in, but he didn’t like another wolf having her mitts on _his_ mate. Jared may not have been a fighter, but if she was looking to start something, Jared would finish it if he had to. He’d do anything he needed to in order to keep Jensen safe and unharmed. 

Danneel instantly realized that she now had the attention of the whole pack, which didn’t fare well for her if she started something. “All right, fine,” she growled. “I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Her movements were a lot more dramatic than they had to be as she turned and ran off towards the woods, her tawny fur standing on edge as she gave Jensen one last look. In her mind, Jensen was still hers, and she was going to stop at nothing to get him back. After all, this beta didn’t deserve him and Danneel was going to make sure Jensen realized that. Even just being in the pack that small amount of time, she could tell there was tension over Jensen being their alpha, and she planned on playing with that tension until she finally got them to snap.

Once Danneel was out of sight, Jared visibly relaxed, only a small frown remaining to let anyone know that he had been upset about this encounter. Slowly, he turned towards Jensen, biting his bottom lip as he took the older man’s hand and led them away from the rest of the pack. The pack quickly resumed what they had been doing before the outburst to give Jensen and Jared a little privacy so they could talk. “So…who was that?” Jared asked when he felt they were far enough away from everyone that they could speak freely. “And don’t say Danneel because I will hit you.”

A small chuckle escaped Jensen when Jared threatened to hit him, the older wolf actually having thought about telling Jared that she was Danneel. But he figured Jared deserved a truthful answer. They were mates, after all, and Christian told him that the secret to a long and healthy relationship was honesty, so he was going to give it a shot. “She’s just…someone that I slept with once,” Jensen explained. “It was last year…she came to me begging me to fuck her and I did. Her boyfriend wasn’t happy about it when she told him that we were going to be mates and she wasn’t happy about it when I told her we weren’t. The last I heard she was with Justin again. Jared, I had no idea she was going to come looking for me again.”

Of course Jensen could have no idea Danneel was going to come looking for him again. Crazy psychopath stalkers were generally pretty secretive about their plans. “Yeah, I know you wouldn’t think that,” Jared assured Jensen, stopping and moving in front of Jensen so he would stop walking as well. “Are you still…you know, interested in her?” he asked, having to know so he could worry properly if she showed up again like he had a feeling she would. He knew that if Jensen had sex with him once and then tried to break it off, Jared wouldn’t want to leave quietly either. He could only imagine what Danneel was going through this last year.

Gently, Jensen cupped Jared’s cheek, giving his head a small shake. “No, baby, I don’t want to be with her,” he whispered. “If I wanted to be with her, I wouldn’t have told her that I wasn’t mating with her, okay?” Without giving it much thought, Jensen leaned in a brushed his lips against Jared’s, smiling when Jared returned the gesture. “I’m with you, and I want to stay that way.” Again, he kissed Jared, smiling once more as he pulled back. “Can we just forget about her, please? I just wanna focus on us.”

Although he wasn’t going to be able to forget about Danneel, Jared was definitely willing to put her in the back of his mind and focus on just him and Jensen. “Yeah, we can do that,” he smiled as he nodded, taking Jensen’s hand in his and starting to walk again. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he just wanted to be away from the pack right now. A little alone time with Jensen couldn’t be a bad thing. “So…I was thinking that maybe we could have a party tonight to welcome you, Chris, and Steve into the pack,” Jared explained, glancing at Jensen from under his bangs. “I mean…once the pack has a chance to really get to know you guys, I think they’ll all be more receptive of you, which will be nice.”

The idea of having _another_ party really wasn’t sitting too well with Jensen, though he could see that Jared really wanted it. And besides, it wasn’t like the last party had been so bad; it had actually been kind of nice. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Jensen smiled, glad that he could make Jared happy just by agreeing to have a welcoming party for the new pack members. Those dimples Jared was flashing at him were sinful and they were giving Jensen a few other idea they could try out. Quickly, Jensen pulled Jared against him, plastering his chest against Jared’s back as he whispered in the younger man’s ear, “You know what else sounds like a good idea?” he asked, hips rolling against Jared’s ass to give him a hint.

Jared moaned softly when Jensen rubbed against him like that, biting into his bottom lip to stifle any louder noises from spilling out of his mouth. “Y-Yeah,” Jared whispered as he nodded, letting Jensen know he knew exactly what he was talking about. “Right now?” he asked, looking around the wooded area they had walked into. It was a little far from the mansion, but Jared figured Jensen could wait that long. After all, they were werewolves, so they could be at the mansion in a matter of minutes. “Mmm…I’ll race you to the mansion.”

“Mmm…don’t wanna go to the mansion, baby,” Jensen whispered in Jared’s ear. “It’s so far away. I want you _now_.” They were in the middle of the woods, so it wasn’t like anyone could see what they were doing, which he knew was what Jared was afraid of. “Right over there’s good, Jay. Against that big tree will work.” He could tell that Jared was hesitant as he walked his mate towards the tree, chuckling softly because Jared seemed so shy. “Don’t worry, Jared, we’re all alone out here. No one is going to see us.”

Although Jared was a little nervous about having sex out in the open like this, he had to admit that Jensen did have a point. No one else was around, and hardly anyone from the pack ever came into the woods unless they were angry and trying to cool off. Then again, they’d just seen Danneel run off into the woods, but he didn’t mind if she saw them. It would just add to the news that Jensen was his mate and a part of him wanted Danneel to catch them in the act. The other part of him was still wishing Jensen would change his mind and go back to the mansion before they started losing clothing.

Yet here he was, allowing Jensen to shove him against a tree while kissing the hell out of him and pushing his shirt off his body. He quickly lifted his arms so Jensen could get the maroon Henley he was wearing off his body without ruining it like he had done with the dress shirt he was wearing on their wedding night. Jared didn’t really want to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe, which is what was going to have to happen if Jensen kept ripping his shirts off of him. “Oh God Jensen, you’re so bad,” Jared chuckled as he turned his head to the side, giving Jensen better access to his neck, which he was currently attacking.

A small growl escaped Jensen when Jared told him he was bad. “I love it when you talk dirty to me,” Jensen mumbled, his hands moving to the waistband of Jared’s jeans before he quickly popped the button and pulled down the zipper. As soon as he was able to, Jensen pushed his hand into Jared’s open pants and boxers, fingers wrapping around Jared’s semi-hard dick and stroking him gently, almost teasingly.

Another breathy chuckle left Jared at Jensen’s words before his brain all but short-circuited when Jensen wrapped his hand around him, Jared’s hips instantly pushing into Jensen’s hand harder. “Ungh…y-yeah?” Jared breathed huskily, trying to make his brain work again so he could give Jensen what he wanted. Jared thought he was pretty good at that. “F-Fuck…harder, Jensen, please?” Apparently, he was really good at begging too, which Jensen seemed to like almost as much as he liked being talked dirty to.

Jensen smiled when Jared started begging him to stroke harder, doing as Jared asked for. He could keep it up for a few more minutes, but eventually he was going to have to stop and get all of Jared’s clothes off. Not to mention he was going to have to get his own clothes off. Or at least he needed to be able to pull his cock out of his jeans, otherwise they weren’t going to get very far here. “Beg me some more, baby. I like it,” Jensen moaned into Jared’s ear, nipping at the lobe before he pulled back and crushed their lips together. Sure, Jared wasn’t going to get many words in with their lips crushed together like this, but Jensen didn’t mind that. Jared’s movements did all the talking that was necessary as he bucked his hips into Jensen’s hand frantically and grabbed at him with his hands, trying to pull him closer though there was already no space between their bodies. 

Suddenly, Jensen saw movement out of the corner of his eye, frowning softly when he realized that Genevieve must have followed them into the woods. It was no secret that she had a crush on Jared and Jensen figured this was a good way to show her that she had no chance with the young beta now because he belonged to Jensen. As long as she kept her mouth shut and Jared didn’t notice her, Jensen could definitely take this as an opportunity to teach her a lesson. He slowly pulled back, pushing Jared’s hands away from him as he stripped out of his T-shirt and jeans, his boxers soon following. Once he was naked, Jensen all but ripped Jared’s pants and boxers down, letting them pool at his mate’s ankles for now. He had better things to focus on now that Jared was naked, anyway.

As soon as Jared was undressed, Jensen locked their lips together again, this kiss a little more forceful than the last. Jensen was claiming Jared this time and the younger man was gladly allowing it to happen, his fingers carding through Jensen’s hair, pulling Jensen closer as their tongues battled for dominance, which Jensen ultimately won. His hand moved to grab behind Jared’s knee, yanking the limb off the ground and wrapping it around his waist, forcing Jared’s leg out of his pants in the process. “Beg me to fuck you, Jared,” Jensen ordered, nipping at his mate’s bottom lip between kisses. 

In his seventeen years of living, Jared never thought he’d have to beg someone to fuck him, not sure how he felt about that request. Then again, he knew Jensen liked begging and when he talked dirty, and this kind of touched on both of those fetishes Jensen had. Plus, he didn’t want to risk not doing what Jensen asked and have Jensen stop all together. “Yeah…” he breathed softly, nodding almost frantically as he nipped at Jensen’s lips. “Fuck me, Jen…please?” he begged, rutting against Jensen’s hip, any part of Jensen he could get friction on, really. “Please Jensen, please? I need you so much right now. Fuck me, babe…claim me.” His lips crushed against Jensen’s again as a moan rumbled through his chest only to be swallowed up in their kiss. 

Hearing Jared beg and talk so dirty in one sitting was amazingly hot and it had Jensen growling in approval again. He definitely planned on fucking Jared and he planned on making a real show of it because Genevieve needed to see just how much Jared liked being with Jensen. Or, at least Jensen _thought_ Jared liked being with him. Jared sure as hell seemed to enjoy their time together, so Jensen was going to stick with his theory. “God…you’re so dirty, baby,” he moaned as he rubbed his body against Jared’s, giving the younger wolf the friction he was seeking. “You’re turning me on so much right now.”

There was no way Jensen was going to be able to hold off for much longer. Jared was hitting all the right buttons and he wanted to be inside him right now. Quickly, he spit into his palm, figuring that Jared needed some form of lubrication before he stroked his own dick a few minutes. Once he felt that he was ready, Jensen readjusted his grip on Jared so that he had better access to Jared’s hole, slowly burying himself to the hilt inside Jared, groaning softly when Jared’s inner muscles clenched around him. “Mmm…baby, relax,” he whispered, kissing Jared’s neck and shoulder softly in an attempt to offer some small form of comfort. He knew Jared wasn’t used to sex without lube, but this is what they had now and he just had to make it work. “Am I hurting you?”

“N-No,” Jared answered with a small shake of his head, licking his lips as he gripped Jensen’s shoulders. “No, it feels good.” He gave an experimental wiggle of his hips, making sure he wasn’t going to hurt himself if he gave Jensen the go ahead to move. “Yeah…s’good. C’mon Jen…move, babe. Fuck me.” There he was again, begging Jensen to have sex with him. If someone would have come up to him the first day he met Jensen and told him that he would be begging for sex once they were mated, he probably would have had them admitted to a mental hospital. After all, throughout his life, Jared had never been focused on sex like all of the other male wolves in the pack, but now it looked like all of that was catching up with him. Not that he was complaining, but it was definitely new to him.

Almost as soon as he was given permission to move, Jensen did, not having to be told twice. He pulled his hips back almost the whole way before he pushed back into Jared again, making sure to keep his movements slow at first so he didn’t hurt Jared. Another moan broke from him as he felt Jared’s body pulling him in deeper, almost begging for him just like Jared’s mouth was, the young beta whispering obscenities and urging Jensen to keep moving. Of course, Jensen didn’t have any plans of stopping until he and Jared were finished, so Jared didn’t have to worry about that. He smiled softly as Jared moaned, pressing his lips to Jared’s again before he asked, “You like that, baby? Hmm?” When Jared nodded, Jensen chuckled softly. “You want me to go faster?”

Again, Jensen laughed when Jared begged him to go faster, gradually picking up his pace until he was nearly slamming into Jared. “Ungh…fuck baby, you’re so damn tight,” he groaned, his hand slipping between their bodies to stroke Jared’s dick, giving his mate the friction he wasn’t getting from rubbing himself against Jensen. His eyes locked with Genevieve’s as Jared moaned again, the younger wolf’s head falling onto Jensen’s shoulder, his breaths panting out against Jensen’s sweat-damp skin. “Come on, Jared,” Jensen whispered in his mate’s ear, eyes still holding Genevieve’s. “Just let it go; cum for me, baby.”

Not three seconds passed after Jensen’s words left his lips before Jared was cumming, his spunk shooting all over Jensen’s belly and wetting his hand. It wasn’t long after that that Jensen groaned and came inside Jared, nipping at Jared’s neck and shoulder as his orgasm ripped through him. His hand never lost its pace on Jared’s cock as he stroked his mate through his orgasm, both men panting heavily when they were finally finished. “God, you’re beautiful,” Jensen whispered when he pulled away from Jared, stealing a quick kiss before his attention was dragged back to Genevieve who was in the process of running back towards the mansion. Jensen would grab her later and have a chat with her after Jared had gone to sleep. After all, the kid looked like he was about to fall over right here, not that Jensen was surprised. Jared always wanted to cuddle and fall asleep after sex. Jensen took it as a compliment, really. “You ready to go back to the mansion? Get a little nap in before dinner?”

Jared’s only answer was to nod as he yawned, actually glad that Jensen knew him well enough to realize that he usually fell asleep after sex. Suddenly, he realized that Jensen hadn’t offered to lie down with him, which was a little disheartening, even if he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. He didn’t just like to sleep after sex, but cuddling was a big part of that also. “Do you wanna lie down with me?” Jared asked, trying to be subtle, though he wasn’t sure if he was pulling it off. “I mean, you taking a nap before dinner too couldn’t hurt, right?” And Jared didn’t really want to be alone. Since Jensen became his mate, Jared hadn’t really had to be alone in bed and he kind of liked it that way.

He could tell that Jared was trying to play it off as if he didn’t care if Jensen lied down with him, but Jensen could tell that he was panicking on the inside. Jensen was getting pretty good at deciphering Jared’s facial expressions and he could sometimes feel Jared’s emotions if they were close enough. Christian explained that it was because he and Jared were mated when he’d mentioned it to them, so he figured that it was normal. “Yeah, I could lie down with you if you want me to,” Jensen answered with a small nod. Of course, he wanted Jared to ask – or at least admit that he wanted him to cuddle – so he didn’t leave it at that. “Do you want me to…you know, cuddle with you, or whatever?”

Although Jared had wanted to keep that information to himself, he knew Jensen was fishing for an answer and he figured he at least owed it to Jensen to be truthful. After all, he’d always been taught that a good relationship was built on communication and honesty, and as odd as it may sound, Jared wanted this thing with Jensen to work out. “Y-Yeah…” Jared answered as he bowed his head shyly, a deep blush coloring his cheeks. “I’d really like that,” he added as an afterthought, hoping that Jensen wouldn’t reject him or make fun of him. The last thing he needed was for Jensen to laugh at him for being so attached, or something like that. It wasn’t like Jensen showed any feelings towards him unless they were having sex, after all. And Jared wasn’t going to ask because he didn’t want to sound desperate.

Smiling widely when he got the answer he’d been looking for, Jensen wrapped his arm around Jared’s waist and pulled him in for another kiss. “Okay then, it’s settled,” he whispered. “I’ll cuddle with you when we get back to the mansion.” It was weird that he was actually excited about this because Jensen wasn’t usually one to cuddle. With all of his other sexual partners, Jensen just kicked them to the curb right after he’d come down from his orgasm. But with Jared, he kind of looked forward to the cuddling. That didn’t mean anything though; it just meant that he was fonder of having sex with Jared than any of the others and he knew that if he wanted to fuck the younger wolf again, he had to play nice. Yeah, that’s all it was. There was no way Christian and Steve were right about Jensen having actual feelings for Jared. That was just ridiculous.

Once Jensen and Jared were dressed again, they started back towards the mansion, Jared yawning a few times on the way. He wasn’t sure if it was the mind-blowing sex that made him feel so tired for sure, but that’s what he was blaming it on. After all, every time he and Jensen went at it, they both gave one hundred and ten percent, which was enough to knock anyone out. He could only imagine if they were both humans. They would never be able to get out of bed because they’d be too damn tired. Then again, he didn’t see a problem with that as long as there was cuddling involved. During their honeymoon phase, Jared had really looked forward to the cuddling almost as much as he looked forward to their next round of sex.

When they finally reached the mansion, Jared was about ready to fall asleep leaning on Jensen as they walked up the stairs. Sometimes he really hated being on the top floor of the mansion because it took so damn long to get to his room when he was dead tired. Having Jensen here to keep him standing was a plus though, so Jared figured he couldn’t complain too much. And once they got to their room, Jared knew he was going to be thankful that his room was on the top floor because unless it was a dire emergency, no one wanted to make the trip up here to bother him while he was sleeping. That was most definitely a plus.

As soon as they were in their room, Jensen softly closed the door, tossing the lock in place so no one would disturb them. He then guided Jared towards the bed, stripping the younger wolf out of his clothes, leaving him in only his boxers before he tucked Jared into the bed. Jensen tossed his shirt off and kicked his jeans off before he crawled into the bed with Jared, wrapping his arm around Jared’s shoulders and pulling his mate closer, smiling when Jared pillowed his head on Jensen’s chest. It was going to make it harder to get out of the bed after Jared fell asleep, sure, but Jensen still liked that Jared was getting so close to him. Maybe they could make this whole _mates_ thing work after all. He pressed a soft kiss to Jared’s forehead as he settled into the mattress, waiting for Jared to fall asleep so he could go find Genevieve. She needed to be spoken to about spying on him and Jared while they were having sex. Jensen was pretty sure that was breaking one of the rules Jared had pounded into his brain.

It didn’t take long for Jared to fall into a deep sleep, giving Jensen the opportunity he needed to slip out of the bed. Quickly, Jensen pulled on a pair of sweat pants and one of Jared’s hoodies before he quietly left the room, leaving the door open just a crack for when he got back. Finding Genevieve wasn’t too hard, the young woman sitting out in the open with Alona Tal, Jared’s cousin, and crying about how much she loved Jared and wished that he had never mated with Jensen. Maybe then she would have had a chance. Alona just looked bored, so Jensen almost felt like a hero for saving her. “Genevieve?” he asked, tapping the woman on her shoulder. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Luckily for Jensen, Alona had been looking for a reason to bolt, and he had just given it to her. Making up some excuse about needing to go satisfy her mate Katie, Alona quickly walked away, heading into the mansion where she wouldn’t be bothered. Jensen took her now vacated seat and smiled smugly at Genevieve. “Did you like the show?” he asked, his tone holding the same smugness his smile held. “It looked like you did from where I was standing.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Genevieve denied, giving her head a small shake as she looked at her sneakers. She knew exactly what Jensen was talking about, but she wasn’t about to openly admit that she’s broken one of the pack rules and watched a mated pair have sex because she was jealous that Jared was with Jensen and not her. With the way things in her life were going right now, Jensen would brand her omega and she’d be run out of the pack. That was the last thing she wanted, so she was keeping her mouth shut.

If there was one thing Jensen hated in this world, it was liars. Angrily, he gripped Genevieve’s cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes, which were flashing a bright green with his anger. “I _saw_ you in the woods, Genevieve,” he growled, jerking her face towards him again when she tried to get away. “You were watching me and Jared have sex!” Releasing her roughly, Jensen stood, towering over the whimpering beta. “Don’t _ever_ do it again, Genevieve. What Jared and I do when we’re alone is none of yours, or anyone else’s, business. If I catch you spying on us again, I’ll brand you omega and personally run your ass out of town.” Being the pack alpha definitely had its perks.

Satisfied that he’d gotten his point across, Jensen headed back to his room, smiling softly when his eyes landed on Jared’s sleeping form. Quietly, Jensen closed the door again and stripped down to his boxers, climbing into the bed and wrapping his arms around Jared once more. Jared whimpered softly in his sleep, but other than that made no noise or protest to being moved. Little did Jensen know, Jared was trapped in a nightmare that he just wanted to wake up from.

_He was shaking from head to toe as they hid in the small ditch in the middle of the woods. They had gone out earlier that day for a walk and now they were being hunted. Jared was only seven and he was scared out of his mind. The young pup was trying to take comfort from his mother and be brave for her, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Maybe it was because he didn’t understand what was happening, or why it was happening, for that matter._

_As a pup, Jared didn’t really know much about the world, which was another reason he and his mother had gone on this trip into the woods. His mother had been telling him all about life as a wolf and who he should avoid when someone came out of nowhere and cut her with a knife. The wound had smoked and sizzled, and she howled with pain before she turned on her attacker and punched him in the jaw. Things escalated from there and before Jared knew what was happening, his mother was ordering him to morph and they were running for their lives._

_Now they were trapped. There was only one way to go in order to get back to their mansion and the scary man was blocking their path. His mother was trying to keep him calm, but Jared couldn’t help but be scared._ “Jared, listen to me,” _his mother whispered, Jared hearing her voice in her head through their werewolf psychic connection._ “I want you to run when I say go, okay? I want you to run and I don’t want you to stop until you reach the mansion, no matter what you hear. Can you do that for me, baby?” _When Jared nodded, his mother nuzzled against his neck for a moment before she ordered him to run. Jared did as he was told, watching through wide eyes as his mother jumped for the man who was attacking them, going for his throat._

 _Unfortunately, Jared didn’t listen to his mother, and when he heard a loud_ bang _and her yipping, Jared stopped and turned to see what had happened. He found his mother on the ground with a pool of blood forming around her, causing him to howl sorrowfully. Before he knew what was happening, the bad man had grabbed him and his flesh was pierced by something sharp. He yipped and tried to scramble away as his skin felt like it was burning, but the man was holding him in place, the blade slicing through his coat, leaving deep crimson stains on his fur. His world was just starting to fade out of focus when something hit the scary man attacking him and knocked him down, forcing him to release Jared._

 _The wolf pup tried to get away once he was free, but he couldn’t move. Soft whimpers broke from him as he morphed back into his human form, blood pooling around him much like it had with his mother. He didn’t know what was happening around him, but when he felt strong arms circle around him and lift him off the ground, he whimpered again, trying to struggle away once more. Jared was afraid that the man was going to hurt him again._ “Jared, shhh…it’s okay,” _he heard a deep voice whisper in his ear. Jared knew that voice – it was his uncle Jeffrey; he was safe._ “It’s all right now, Jared. We’re going to get you home. You’re going to be fine, buddy.”

_As Jeffrey carried him off, Jared could see a couple of men kneeling over his mother through the haze that was trying to pull him into unconsciousness. He didn’t know what they were going to do to her, but he wanted them to leave her alone. Jared tried to struggle, but the darkness finally pulled him under, even as he screamed for his mother._

“Mom!” Jared yelled as he jackknifed awake, his body shaking and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder, sighing when he realized that it was just Jensen. This wasn’t the first time he’d had this nightmare, and he was worried that it wouldn’t be the last. That part of his past always haunted his nightmares – especially the man with sandy blonde hair and the most piercing blue eyes he had ever seen. When he had looked into those eyes, it was like he was staring into the eyes of the Devil himself. Without even thinking about it, Jared threw himself into Jensen’s arms, burrowing into his mate’s chest as he began to sob.

When Jared started crying against his chest, Jensen frowned, one hand moving to comb his fingers through Jared’s hair as he pressed his lips against the top of Jared’s head. “Shhh…s’okay, baby,” Jensen whispered against Jared’s hair, trying to get his mate to calm down. Jensen didn’t understand what had set Jared off because he’d been sleeping, but he could take a guess. After all, it wasn’t hard to figure out that Jared had been having a nightmare, and judging by his outburst, it was about his mother. Je could relate there; he always had nightmares about his mother’s untimely demise. “Jared, baby, c’mon…talk to me about it,” he urged when Jared seemed to finally calm down a little bit. “Please? It might help.”

Jared didn’t think it was going to help, but he wasn’t going to deny Jensen the chance to know what happened during his childhood. Honesty and communication – that’s what he was aiming for. Of course, he wished that he hadn’t had this nightmare because he hadn’t planned on talking about his childhood until later in their relationship, but he couldn’t really change that now. Slowly, he pulled back so that he could look into Jensen’s understanding green eyes, sniffling softly. “When I was seven, my mother was murdered by a hunter. I was there and he attacked me too. If it hadn’t been for Jeffrey, Sebastian, and my father, I probably would have died too. They got there just in time and took me to Jim, who patched me up.”

One finger gently traced over a large scar running from just under Jared’s armpit all the way down to the center of his side once Jared was done speaking. “Did he do this to you?” Jensen asked softly, frowning when Jared nodded. He felt a growing sense of rage welling up inside him as he continued to trace Jared’s scar with his finger. “What happened to him? The guy who attacked you? Did they kill him?” A part of Jensen wished they hadn’t so he could go do it himself, but that hope was quickly snuffed out when Jared nodded. “Good.”

Although he appreciated the attempt at comforting him from Jensen, Jared didn’t like it when people touched his scar. Slowly, he pulled away from Jensen’s hand, giving his head a small shake. “Please…stop touching it,” he whispered, gently pushing Jensen’s hand away from him. “It’s…gross and…ugly. Just…don’t even look at it.” Reaching over the side of the bed, Jared grabbed his hoodie that Jensen had been wearing when he went to talk to Genevieve, intending to pull it on over his head to hide the scar away where it belonged. When they were having sex, it was all right to be naked because Jensen wasn’t focused on Jared’s scar, but when they weren’t and Jensen was focused on his body, Jared felt uncomfortable in his own skin.

Before Jared could get the hoodie on, Jensen stopped him, taking the article of clothing away from his mate and tossing it onto the floor again. “Don’t,” he whispered softly, shaking his head. “Don’t cover it up. It’s a part of you, and it’s beautiful.” Kissing Jared’s neck softly, Jensen whispered, “ _You’re_ beautiful. Every part of you.” He quickly moved so that he was in front of Jared now, locking their lips as he pulled Jared closer to him, smiling softly against his lover’s lips when Jared moaned and straddled Jensen’s thighs. Jensen was going to make Jared see just how beautiful he was, even if Jared didn’t want to see it. He felt that Jared _needed_ to understand what Jensen saw when he looked at him.

As the kiss continued, Jensen switched their positions, pushing Jared onto the mattress and blanketing his body with his own. They kissed for a few more minutes before Jensen’s lips trailed across Jared’s cheek to his neck, kissing and nipping the sensitive skin there, eliciting moans from Jared as he tilted his head to the side, giving Jensen better access. After a few minutes of teasing Jared’s neck, Jensen moved to his shoulder, teeth scraping along Jared’s flesh as Jensen moved further down Jared’s body, sucking Jared’s right nipple into his mouth, tongue teasing the nub to a hard bud. He nipped at the bud gently before he slid his lips further to the right, tongue sweeping over the scar Jared was so desperately trying to hide from him.

Just as Jensen had suspected he would, Jared tried to wiggle away from him when he started licking his scar. Fortunately, Jensen had been prepared for this, pinning Jared to the bed, their fingers lacing together where Jensen was holding him down. “Don’t pull away from me,” he whispered softly as he locked gazes with Jared, head shaking slightly. “Just trust me. Wanna show you how damn beautiful you are.” He dipped his head again then, resuming the gentle licks he was giving to the raised flesh on Jared’s body. A small smile came to his lips when Jared relaxed and Jensen released his grip he had on Jared, hands smoothing down Jared’s body to hold onto his hips. 

Once Jensen let his hands go, Jared placed both of his hands on Jensen’s head, fingers carding through the short strands of Jensen’s hair, his eyes closing as he tried to think of something else. Anything else would have worked at this point because right now all he could focus on was the fact that Jensen was kissing a licking the biggest imperfection on his body. And although Jensen was insisting that it was beautiful, Jared didn’t feel that way and he didn’t want Jensen paying so much attention to it. Honestly, the whole concept of that scar – the way it looked, how it got there, who had to die so he could live – made Jared sick. He didn’t want Jensen anywhere near it!

Almost as if his prayer had been answered, there was a knock on the door, both Jensen and Jared’s attention snapping to the wooden barrier between them and their visitor. “Don’t answer it,” Jensen whispered, dipping his head again to lavish attention to Jared’s scar. “They’ll go away when they realize we don’t want to talk to anyone.” And even if they didn’t, Jensen was all right with ignoring them until he was finished with Jared. Unfortunately for Jensen, Jared had different ideas and was already moving to pull his clothes on.

“It could be important,” Jared mumbled as he crawled out of the bed, pulling on a pair of light gray sweat pants and his hoodie on his way to the door. Even if it wasn’t important, he was going to answer it because it got Jensen away from that damn scar. Besides, he had a feeling it was important because like he had thought earlier, no one ever came up here to bother him unless there was some dire situation happening. Hell, for all he knew, it could have been an issue that needed the pack alpha’s guidance. The possibilities were endless.

His eyes widened when he was greeted by a frantic Mike covered in blood. “Jared please, we need you to come quick!” Mike explained, tears spilling from his deep blue eyes down his cheeks to land on his blood stained shirt. “It’s Tom, Jay. He’s been attacked. Please…he’s at the hospital with Jim.” Shaking his head, Mike whispered brokenly, “Jim doesn’t think he’s going to make it. We need your help, please?”


	6. Chapter Six

When Mike explained that something had happened to Tom, Jared quickly followed him to the hospital, Jensen in tow because he was the alpha and Jim had requested to speak with him. Tom looked like he had been attacked by some sort of animal and it brought back memories for Jared about his mother’s attack, especially after the nightmare he’d had earlier that day. “What happened to him?” Jared asked Jim, frowning at the pack’s medical examiner. Tom was pretty out of it on morphine, so Jared couldn’t ask him and he wanted answers right now. Clearly, this attack wasn’t random; someone wanted to hurt Tom and Jared wanted to know who it was.

Shaking his head, Jim explained, “I’m not sure yet, Jared. Can you just…help him while I talk to Jensen for a moment?” When Jared nodded, Jim left the room with Jensen, leaving Jared and Mike alone with Tom so Jared could help him. Once they were alone, Jim turned his full attention to Jensen, frowning at the younger alpha. “We were worried this was going to happen,” Jim explained softly. “Jeffrey, Samantha, and I were worried that you weren’t going to be able to handle running this pack because you don’t have experience in this area.” He could tell that Jensen was confused, but he wouldn’t be for long. “Tom was attacked by another wolf. Now, I’m not sure which one, but I would assume it’s one of your enemies from your lone wolf days. God only knows you have enough of them, Jensen.”

Now it was Jensen’s turn to frown, not sure where this theory had come from. “Why would one of my enemies do this?” he asked, giving his head a small shake. “I don’t even like Tom. If they wanted to hurt me, they would have come after someone I cared about, Jim.” Again, Jensen shook his head. “No, this wasn’t because of me. There has to be another explanation. You’re just not looking hard enough because you all are so eager to blame me for it when something bad happens. Well, this wasn’t my fault.”

“Sophia saw Danneel in the area a few minutes before Tom was attacked,” Jim disclosed softly. “We think that Danneel was upset about your last meeting and she attacked one of your pack because of it. So yes, this makes it your fault. And even if it wasn’t your fault, it’s still your problem because you’re the alpha!” Taking a deep breath, Jim added, “Now, a lot of the pack feel that you don’t take your role as the alpha seriously and they think you’re going to make Jared miserable because of it. I’m rooting for you, son. But I need to know that you’re going to step up and do what’s right when one of your pack members is attacked.”

Again, Jensen frowned when Jim explained the situation at hand, knowing that he needed to do _something_ about this alleged attack on Tom. Of course, they weren’t going to know anything until Tom woke up, so Jensen couldn’t really do much. The only thing he could do was go talk to Danneel, which is where he was headed now. He didn’t really think she would admit to attacking Tom, but if she did, then he’d get it out of her. Really, it wouldn’t surprise him; the bitch was a psycho now that Jensen was mated with Jared. Since she found out, she’d been here twice for sure trying to get Jensen to fuck her again in a matter of hours, but he refused. She got really pissed after the last time and it wouldn’t have surprised him if she attacked someone. “All right look, I’ve got something that I need to do. Just tell Jared I’ll be back later. Please?”

Jensen was secretive and Jim could respect that. After all, he’d known a few lone wolves in his day and they always were secretive. But the ones he knew who had mated into packs, like Richard and Sandy, were generally pretty good with the transition. It just took a while to get used to the responsibilities of the pack, and Jim knew it was going to be harder for Jensen because he was the alpha. So if Jensen wanted to be secretive about his missions, then he was going to let him be as long as Jensen wasn’t hurting anyone he cared about. “All right,” he mumbled with a small nod. “But don’t do anything stupid and get yourself hurt.”

With a small nod, Jensen left the hospital, running off into the woods as he morphed into his werewolf form, knowing that it would be easier to track Danneel in this skin. If she had gone off the rails and attacked Tom, Jensen had a feeling she wasn’t going to be sticking around here to get persecuted by the other members of the pack if they found her. No, she was a survivalist. She would have gone off somewhere deep into the woods where no one could find her unless they knew her scent. Fortunately for Jensen, he knew her scent pretty well even after a whole year of not seeing her for more than a few minutes here and there.

**~~**

A small sigh escaped Jared when he walked out of the room Tom was being kept in. He had Tom’s blood on his hands and he quickly moved to the sink to wash it off. Once that was done, Jared began looking around the room for Jensen. “Where did Jensen go?” he asked when he realized that he must have left. Figures he would have. Jensen didn’t like Tom and he was probably pissed off because their sex had been interrupted. Sometimes Jared wished Jensen could act more like a member of the pack and not run off every time something didn’t go his way. It would have caused less friction around the mansion, he was sure.

At Jared’s question, Jim merely gave his shoulders a small shrug. “He didn’t say where he was going exactly,” he admitted. “Just that he needed to do something and he asked me to let you know that he would be back later.” Jim could tell that Jared was worried about where Jensen had gone, but he wasn’t sure why. If their theory on Tom’s attack, which Mike filled Jared in on in the room if he had done what Jim asked him to, was correct, then Jensen was probably safe. After all, he was the object of the woman’s obsession, so she probably wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, Jensen was a pretty big guy, so he should be able to take care of himself if something happened. “Did you heal Tom?”

The only answer Jared could muster up was a nod, his mind on Jensen and where he could have gone off to. Ever since he had recovered from the attack the day his mother died, Jared had these special abilities. He could heal people just by touching them as long as they weren’t dead, and Jim found that very helpful in times of crisis. Jared was happy to help in any way he could. Still, it upset him that Jensen wasn’t here. He knew that Jensen wasn’t fond of Tom, but he was Jared’s good friend. Jared had just been hoping Jensen would be here to offer support when he got back out here. Now, Jared was left alone to deal with the feelings he was having about Tom’s attack. Maybe the only time Jensen was capable of comfort was when he wanted something from Jared. Any other time, he was probably numb and uncaring. Really, Jared didn’t even know what he saw in Jensen.

He cleared his throat a little as he gave Jim a small smile. “He should be fine in a few hours. But I would suggest keeping him here for a few days just to make sure he’s at one hundred percent. I mean, he was in pretty bad shape when I got here. I want to make sure he’s definitely going to be all right before he’s put back out there in the yard. You know how Milo and Chad can be with their practical jokes.” Lately, they’d been going after Jensen for the most part, but they threw in the occasional curveball every now and then too.

“Of course I’m going to keep him here until I’m absolutely sure he’s all right,” Jim promised. “Even if I have to strap him to that table, he’s not leaving until I’ve given him the stamp of approval. And I think Mike will help with that in case Tom thinks he can outsmart an old man. Mike knows all of Tom’s tricks.” Smiling widely, Jim clapped Jared on the shoulder. “Thanks, son,” he said. “You have a great gift and you use it well, Jared. Your father would have been proud of you for that.” He probably shouldn’t have brought up Gerald, generally tried to avoid the topic, but he just thought Jared should know his feelings on the matter.

His father? Yeah right. Gerald was never proud of anything that Jared did. Jared was a beta and a disappointment to the pack alpha. Still, Jared was suffering from his loss. Another thing he should have been sharing with his mate, only Jensen wasn’t here. He was off running around in the woods or something when he should have been here taking care of Jared during this troublesome time. Jensen really had a lot to learn about being a mate. And an alpha, but Jared was teaching him all of that. Jared didn’t know how to be the perfect mate either, so maybe they both needed a little council. “I’m gonna head back home. Did you need me for anything else?”

When Jim shook his head to let Jared know he didn’t need anything else, Jared left the hospital and headed back to the mansion. This was probably the first place Jensen was going to come when he got back, so Jared figured it was a good place to wait for him. However, while he was walking back to the mansion, he was suddenly stopped by Danneel, who looked exceptionally pleased at the moment. It was definitely a different look on her since Jared was so used to seeing her pissed off because she couldn’t have Jensen. “D-Danneel,” Jared mumbled, taking a step back so he didn’t run into the woman. “What are you doing here?” He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her trying to get at Jensen right now. Not when his friend was in the hospital and he was dealing with some parental issues of his own.

Smiling, Danneel gave her head a small shake, planting her hand on her hip as she stared at Jared. “Come on, Jared, don’t act stupid,” she answered. “I want to know where Jensen is. I mean, I just saw him a few minutes ago and now he’s just…gone. Like he vanished into thin air really.” Her smile widened when Jared seemed surprised that she had just seen Jensen; her plan was definitely going to work as planned, even if not better. “So…you’re his mate. Do you know where he is?”

He didn’t have to answer her. Jared knew that without a doubt, but he was curious. Jared had been in the room with Tom healing his wounds for nearly thirty minutes, which meant Jensen must have gone to see Danneel during that time. But if she was here looking for him, that meant they’d gotten separated at some point, so where the hell was Jensen? “N-No, I don’t know where he is,” Jared admitted, eyes darting to the ground before he met Danneel’s stare once more. “Where did you see him earlier?” He doubted she would tell the truth, but it was worth a shot at least, Jared supposed.

Danneel couldn’t help but chuckle when Jared asked where she had seen Jensen. The young man really had no clue where his mate was and Danneel could tell that it was really wearing on him. “He was in my bed, Jared,” she whispered, running her finger across Jared’s chest and down his arm as she walked around his body. “Aww, you really don’t know how he works, do you?” she cooed in Jared’s ear, giving her head a small shake. “He only came here to see if he could mate with you because he wanted your wealth, Jared. I mean, you’re the pack beta, can you imagine how many bragging rights Jensen would have when he went back to his lone wolf ways and told everyone he knew that he fucked the Padalecki clan’s beta wolf?” Chuckling as she pulled back, Danneel finished. “He would be a legend.”

No, she was lying. Jensen wasn’t like that, was he? Then again, Jared didn’t know much about Jensen even after being mated with him for a week and a half. And Jensen was not here right now when Jared needed him to help him deal with the grief of his friend being attacked, so really, what did that say about his mate? That Jensen was off screwing some old flame of his? Not necessarily, though Jared wasn’t ruling out the possibility. “I-I don’t…believe you,” Jared whispered softly as he shook his head. “Jensen wouldn’t do that to me. He…cares about me.” Sure, he was just spewing his own hopes, but maybe there was a chance that he was right. Maybe there was a chance that Danneel was just trying to get under his skin and he was about to call her on her bluff.

Unfortunately, Jared’s words did nothing to make Danneel change her story. Instead, she just looked even sadder, like she felt sorry for Jared, which was even worse. “Oh Jared, you poor thing,” Danneel whispered as she gave her head a small shake. “You really don’t know _anything_ about Jensen, do you?” Frowning sadly once more, Danneel started to walk away from Jared. “Jensen and I are happy together now, Jared. And I would really appreciate it if you just left him alone. He needs time to deal with the fact that you actually developed feelings for him, but he’ll get over it and when he does, you won’t see him again.” Smiling now, she added, “If you see him, can you tell him I was looking for him?” With that, she headed off into the woods, a wolfish smirk on her lips as she turned around for one final glance at Jared and saw the tears sliding down his cheeks.

God, he’d been so stupid! Jared couldn’t believe that he actually thought Jensen cared about him! The only time they ever got along was when they were having sex, so the most Jared should have thought about Jensen was that he loved having sex with Jared. That’s all it was. Jared was just a good fuck to make Jensen feel good and then it was probably back to Danneel to laugh at the inexperienced little pup who just happened to have the misfortune of catching Jensen’s attention. It wasn’t fair, dammit! And now Jared was left to wonder if maybe there was a chance Danneel was just a really good liar and everything she said was bullshit. Jared was left to wonder if maybe Danneel was just trying to lash out at him because he had what she wanted and he hated not knowing the answers to his questions.

Right now, Jared just wanted to get out of here. He needed to go back to the mansion and clear his head because right now, he just couldn’t deal with anything. Too much had happened in such a short period of time and Jared’s world had just been turned upside down and the only one who could fix it was off fucking an old girlfriend for all Jared knew when he should have been here comforting Jared. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he ran into his room and slammed the door closed, completely ignoring Misha, Sophia, Jeffrey, and anyone else who tried to stop him and ask what was wrong with him. Talking to someone wasn’t going to make him feel better and although his sister would probably be pissed at him, Jared would just deal with that later.

Feeling completely defeated, Jared pressed his back to the door, not caring when pain flared through his body because Jensen had treated him so roughly when they sex against the tree as he slid down onto the floor, his knees pulled up against his chest as he wrapped his arms around his shins. He didn’t know if he could deal with this. Being thrust into his role when he wasn’t even an adult according to humans was bad enough, but now he had to wonder if Jensen was cheating on him, too?! How much more was he going to have to deal with before he could finally be happy? Jared was a good kid, and he thought that he deserved to have a good life, but apparently he’d done something to piss off the fates because all he had so far was pain and heartache. His head fell to his knees as he sobbed openly, letting everything he’d been holding for the last few hours just come crashing down on him.

**~~**

“What the hell did you do to Jared?!” Misha demanded as he shoved Jensen back away from the mansion’s main entrance. Jared had been holed up in his room crying since he left the hospital and although no one knew what had happened for sure, Misha had a good idea that Jensen was the root of the problem. After all, before Jensen got here, Jared had been a happy teenager who rarely cried and shut people out, and now he was doing just that. Jared had shut out everyone who cared about him and Misha knew it had _something_ to do with the alpha. He wasn’t an idiot, after all. It wasn’t hard to tell that Jared had fallen for Jensen over these last few days and Jensen was just being cruel by allowing Jared to think there was something between them other than convenience if there wasn’t.

To say that Jensen was surprised when Misha shoved him would have been an understatement, the alpha frowning deeply as he listened to Misha’s words. Something was wrong with Jared? No, Jared had been fine when he left, so nothing could be wrong now, right? But Misha looked pissed and the fact that he had actually shoved him was testament to that. According to pack law, unless someone wanted to challenge the alpha, he never raised a hand to him. But Jensen could tell Misha didn’t want to challenge him, so something must have happened to Jared, which had his mind reeling. “What are you talking about?” Jensen demanded. “Where the hell is he?”

Misha scoffed when Jensen asked where Jared was, surprised that he thought Misha was going to tell him. “Like I’m going to tell you where he is so you can go make him even more upset!” Misha spat, shaking his head. “There’s no way in Hell I’m telling you where he is!” He growled softly at Jensen when the alpha tried to move past him and get into the mansion, shoving Jensen back away from the door again. “You’re not getting in there, you sonuvabitch! You don’t _belong_ here right now. Until Jared wants to see you, I’m not letting you go anywhere near him.”

Angrily, Jensen shoved Misha into the mansion, following after him. “I’m your alpha, dammit!” he yelled as he shoved Misha back further into the room. “You _will_ tell me where Jared is and you’ll stand down and let me take care of _my_ mate! Because that’s who he is, you know? _My_ mate! Maybe you should go focus on Richard instead of Jared. I mean, he’s your mate, isn’t he? Why are you so intent on fucking with Jared? Just leave him the hell alone and let me take care of what’s _mine_!”

With each shove, Misha grew angrier and angrier, finally pushing Jensen back away from the stairs when he got too close. “You cocky prick!” he growled when Jensen brought up Richard. “Jared is our beta; that’s why I worry about him so much. He’s like a brother to me and Tom and we’re _very_ protective of him! And you’re toxic, Jensen! Ever since you got here, Jared has been nothing but miserable!” Squaring his shoulders, Misha added, “Maybe you should think about doing the right thing here and leaving Jared alone. Separation isn’t exactly customary with mates, but I think we can wave that little fact in your case if it means Jared will be okay. With you gone, Jared will be so much better off.”

Now it was Jensen’s turn to scoff, quickly shaking his head. “Did you even ask Jared what he wanted before you came to this conclusion?” He could tell from the look on Misha’s face that the older wolf hadn’t. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought. Now get the fuck out of my way and let me talk to Jared.” Jensen didn’t give Misha the chance to protest before he was shoving the other wolf out of the way and running up the stairs, instantly sensing that Jared was upset. As far as he knew, Jensen hadn’t done anything wrong, so if Jared was mad, it wasn’t his fault. God forbid Misha could think that one of the pack members pissed Jared off.

When Jensen tried the door, he noticed that someone was blocking it so he couldn’t get in. At least it wasn’t locked, which was a plus. Well, maybe not. If it had been locked, Jensen could have just picked the lock and gotten in. Now he had to wait for Jared to get out of the way. He heard Jared yell at him to go away, but he wasn’t going to do that. “Jared, it’s Jen. C’mon, let me in, baby.” Jared didn’t listen at first, which was really pissing Jensen off. “Please baby…talk to me?” he tried, just barely holding back the victory snap when Jared opened the door and let him in. Jensen made sure to toss the lock in place when he walked into the room, knowing that he wanted some privacy while talking to Jared. “Hey…what’s wrong, Jay?”

Tears were still staining Jared’s cheeks when he let Jensen in and he had to give Jensen props for at least _acting_ genuinely concerned for Jared’s feelings. Then again, maybe Jensen really did care and Danneel had been the one who was lying. Jared just didn’t know what to believe anymore. He flinched slightly when Jensen reached for him, stopping the alpha from cupping his cheek like Jensen had been going for. “Are you cheating on me?” Jared blurted out, fresh tears welling up in his eyes before spilling down his cheeks. “Because at the hospital you just left and I didn’t know where you were and then Danneel said –”

Before Jared could finish his rant, Jensen interrupted, “Danneel? She was here again?” When Jared nodded, Jensen rolled his eyes, growling in frustration. “Jared, whatever she said, it was a lie. I swear to you, there’s nothing going on between the two of us. She’s a psychopath who wants there to be something where’s there’s nothing. I fucked her one time a year ago and she won’t let it go!” Moving closer to Jared, Jensen whispered, “Jared, there’s only you. I wouldn’t cheat on you. How could you think I’d do something like that?”

What if it was an act? Could Jared trust Jensen’s promises? They didn’t know each too well, so Jared had no clue how good of an actor Jensen really was. But he _wanted_ to trust Jensen. He _wanted_ to believe that there was something between the two of them more than just the convenience of Jared needing to mate and Jensen winning fight for him. So, he was going to try to forget about what Danneel told him. “Do you promise? Because I can’t be with someone who’s going to cheat on me. I won’t tolerate infidelity, Jensen. And not just because it’s breaking one of the most important laws in the werewolf community. I mean, I know that you and I were shoved into this, but it’s for the pack.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared explained, “The pack is everything. More than my happiness, more than my dreams; I’d give my life for it. Don’t forget, I never asked for this either. If you were part of a pack, you’d understand.”

Again, Jensen moved closer to Jared, this time actually making contact when he reached for Jared. At least his beta wasn’t pulling away from him this time. That was progress. “I promise. There’s no one else that I want to be with, baby. And maybe this is all just for the pack, or whatever, but I think we can make it work. You just have to trust me.” Taking a chance, Jensen leaned in and pressed his lips against Jared’s, moaning softly as the kiss deepened, tongues tangling for a minute before Jared pulled away, still not sure if he could forgive Jensen completely. “So…how’s Tom?” Jensen asked, figuring that he could at least play nice about Tom for a while if it made Jared happy.

Although he knew Jensen could give a rat’s ass about Tom’s condition, Jared smiled and headed over to sit on the bed, scooting over to make room for Jensen when he sat down beside him. “He’s good,” Jared assured his mate. “Jim promised that he’d keep Tom in the hospital just to make sure he’s actually one hundred percent healed and then he should be fine to go home.” A small smile graced Jared’s lips as he added, “Mike should be happy. He’s been climbing the walls about Tom having to stay in the hospital. But he knows it’s for the best, so he hasn’t argued…yet.”

Jensen smiled softly as he listened to Jared speaking about his friend’s condition. It was no secret he didn’t like Tom, but he knew that if anything had happened to him, it would have been hard on Jared, and he didn’t want that. When he went to wrap his arm around Jared, the younger man flinched again, hissing in slight pain, which had Jensen worrying again. “What’s wrong? Did someone hurt you?” he asked, feeling that familiar sense of rage boiling inside him at the thought of Jared being injured.

“Yeah, you,” Jared answered with a small chuckle, scooting up so that his back wasn’t pressing against the mattress so roughly. He could see that Jensen was clearly confused, so he elaborated. “Earlier against the tree…I think I have brush burn from the bark, or something.” Giving his head a small shake, Jared assured, “It’s nothing to worry about. It’ll be better in a few days. I actually didn’t even feel it when it was happening. Or while we were sleeping earlier. I just realized that it was there when I leaned against the door so no one could get in here.” He gave Jensen a small smile as he curled up on his side and snuggled into Jensen’s side. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Not worrying about it was a lot harder said than done. Especially when Jensen had been the one to give it to Jared because he hadn’t wanted to go back to the mansion to have sex. “I can’t not worry about it,” Jensen admitted with a small shake of his head. “Let me at least help take some of the pain away.” They were werewolves, so the brush burn would go away within the next few hours because of their speedy healing abilities, but until then, Jensen could make Jared more comfortable. “Take your shirt off,” he ordered as he headed into the bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth.

He returned a few minutes later and climbed back onto the bed, coaxing Jared onto his belly before he applied the wash cloth to Jared’s back. A small smile came to Jensen’s lips as Jared moaned softly. Jensen actually knew a thing or two about taking care of minor injuries; like when there was a brush burn involved, the best thing for it was a cool compress and to make sure nothing came into contact with the skin. It meant that Jared was going to have to be shirtless for the next few hours, but Jensen was perfectly all right with that. “Try not to rub your back against anything for the next couple of hours, okay? You should be healed by then.” Smiling once more, Jensen lied down on his side next to Jared, pressing his forehead against Jared’s shoulder. “Just…stay like this for a while and you should be okay.”

Of course, if Jared wanted to, he could have easily healed himself right now because of his special gift. But Jared kind of liked Jensen taking care of him so he was just going to let it slide for now. If the pain became too great, then he would heal himself, but it felt pretty good right now. Jensen’s little medical help probably had a lot to do with that Jared was sure. “M’kay,” he mumbled softly as he let his eyes slipped closed. It was already well after dark and Jared had been through so much that day; he was tired as hell. “Just…gonna take a nap,” he whispered, pressing his chin against the top of Jensen’s head, wanting to have more contact with his alpha. Danneel’s words had really gotten to him today and Jared was starting to wonder if there was more to his and Jensen’s relationship than just what was best for the pack.

Feelings were starting to develop and Jared didn’t think they were just on his end. Well, he was hoping they weren’t just on his end. If he and Jensen could make this work, he knew his life would be so much better in the future. After all, he and Jensen were stuck with each other whether there were feelings or not. Separation wasn’t an option in the werewolf community, especially for someone as prominent as the Padalecki clan beta. He could only imagine what would happen if Jensen had been lying and he was cheating on him. Some of the pack members wouldn’t be surprised, but if they had to separate, he’d be a disgrace. Jared couldn’t deal with that for sure.

After a few minutes, Jared could tell that Jensen had fallen asleep. Apparently, this day had taken a lot out of his mate as well. Usually, Jared was the one falling asleep on Jensen. It kind of felt nice to have things the other way around for a change. Smiling softly, Jared dipped his head and whispered into his sleeping mate’s ear, knowing Jensen probably wouldn’t hear him or remember it in the morning, but he felt the need to let him know anyway. “I love you, Jensen,” he whispered before he pressed a soft kiss to Jensen’s forehead and closed his eyes, falling into his own deep sleep.

**~~**

A deep growl erupted from the alpha wolf as he grabbed Danneel’s arm and drug her off to the side away from the three new wolves she’s brought to their hideout. “What the hell were you thinking, Danni?” he demanded, shoving the woman into a nearby tree. “How do you know we can trust them? They’re part of _his_ pack! And I just attacked one of their members! How do you know they’re not here just to figure out where we’re hiding so they can take the information back to Jensen and get us both killed?!”

She really hated it when Justin acted this way. It didn’t happen often, but when he was worried about something, he got a little violent. “Don’t worry, Justin,” Danneel snapped, rubbing at her arm where she had been grabbed. “These are the ones who hate Jensen almost as much as we do.” Turning her attention towards the wolves she had brought with her, Danneel explained, “The girl over there – she’s in love with Jared, Jensen’s mate, and she feels like Jensen stole him from her. She’s looking to get him back by getting Jensen out of the picture. The smaller, gangly one over there – he does everything the bigger one tells him to do, like a damn puppy or something. And the big one – he wanted to be the alpha of the pack and he’s pissed that Jensen, an outsider, got the position over him.” Again, she gave Justin a smug smile. “See, they’re on our side. They want to hurt Jensen just as much as we do.”

It wasn’t exactly much to go on, but they could use all the help they could get when they went up against Jensen. After all, even if the pack didn’t like him, they would defend him because he was their alpha, which meant their numbers weren’t exactly great in comparison. Having allies inside the pack was a good way to help that as far as Justin was concerned. Then again, he kind of had a plan that wouldn’t require too much help in the numbers department. “So, you are all willing to work with us to get revenge on Jensen for how he acts?” Justin asked, just to make sure they were on the same page. At the nods of agreement, he smiled softly. “Excellent. Because I have a plan to will really hurt Jensen.”

As Justin moved towards the new members of his growing pack, he smiled. “Jared,” he explained simply, glancing from one face to the next. “The one way to get at Jensen is to hurt Jared. I mean, Jensen’s got experience when it comes to fighting and other altercations, but from what I hear, Jared is sheltered by the pack, and it’s been that way since he was a pup.”

For the first time since they arrived, one of the wolves spoke up. “Yeah, they protect him like he’s glass and he’s going to break,” David chimed in, obviously annoyed by the fact. “It’s disgusting, really. He’s seventeen years old. He’ll be eighteen in July, and they still treat him like he’s five half of the time.” Scoffing, David added, “Being mated to a big bad lone wolf is probably the most excitement Jared’s gotten since he was attacked as a pup. I bet he’s loving every minute of it, even if he acts like it’s such a burden. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just an act; all a lie.”

“No, Jared wouldn’t lie about something like that,” Genevieve assured David with a small shake of her head. “He’s miserable. And why wouldn’t he be? I mean, he’s mated to the wrong wolf. Jared and I are supposed to be together and it’s just killing him to be apart from me! I can tell.” A single tear slipped down Genevieve’s cheek as she added, “I’ll just be happy when he can finally act on his true feelings. We’ll both be happy.”

Rolling his eyes, Jake corrected, “You’re delusional, Genevieve! Jared doesn’t want to be with you!” Turning his attention back towards the front where Justin was still standing, he added, “Besides, you’re a beta wolf and so is he. There’s no way the two of you can mate. You could fuck and have a good time, but other than that, the two of you have no future.” Again, he rolled his eyes as he muttered under his breath, “Not that he wants one with you.”

Fed up with the squabbling already, Justin cut off Genevieve’s reply to Jake. “Enough!” he yelled, his arms slicing through the air in front of him. “I’m not going to deal with this all day. You can argue when you’re out of my sight. Right now we need to focus on the task at hand. Kidnapping Jared is going to take a lot of preparation and everything is going to have to be spot on when it goes down. One mistake and we could all be ruined.” Satisfied that he had everyone’s attention now, Justin continued on with his plans. “David, you’re going to be in charge of creating a distraction. Now, I just attacked one of the members of that pack, and I hear he has a mate. Start taunting him, and get him to pick a fight with you. Jensen will have to come deal with it, which gets him away from Jared. Genevieve, that’s where you come in. As soon as Jensen is incapacitated, tell Jared that you want to talk to him and get him away from the rest of the pack. Start heading towards the woods where you can be alone. Jake, you’re going to be in the woods waiting for them to come by.”

Carefully, Justin pulled a syringe filled with a yellow liquid out of his pocket, handing it to Jake. “This is a very powerful animal tranquilizer,” he explained. “While Genevieve has Jared preoccupied, inject him with this drug and wait for him to go down. It shouldn’t take long. By that time, David should have joined you in the woods and you all can bring Jared back here. We’ll figure out what to do about him once we have him here.”

That part of the plan didn’t sit too well with David. “I have a better idea,” he piped up. “There’s this place my parents used to go to that’s not too far from here. It’s hidden and it has a basement we can keep Jared in so no one finds him. Having him out in the open like this, someone might smell him and come find him before we have a chance to use him to get at Jensen.” When Justin nodded, David smirked softly, glad to be able to add to the plan in any way he could. After all, his grudge wasn’t just with Jensen. Jared had rejected him as his mate long before Jensen came into the picture, so any chance he had to hurt Jared, he was going to take it, and he was going to enjoy it.

Now that the plan was laid out, Justin was ready to start executing it. “All right, if there are no questions or concerns, we need to move fast. I want Jensen out of my life once and for all and I want it done as soon as possible.” He smiled widely when everyone around him just nodded. “Good; I expect to have Jared in my possession within the next seventy-two hours. Don’t let me down.” With that, he headed off towards the house David had mentioned, knowing that he needed to get a few things set up before he even thought about keeping Jared there.


	7. Chapter Seven

They were fighting…again. Over the last few days, Danneel had made a couple more appearances, which had pissed Jared off and now Jensen and Jared couldn’t seem to get along for more than five minutes before they were back at each other’s throats. And the pack wasn’t helping with that either; Jensen was convinced that Misha and Mike were trying to break them up so they could have Jared all to themselves, although Jared tried to explain how ridiculous that was. Both Mike and Misha had mates and they weren’t about to ruin their relationships just to get Jared away from Jensen. Of course, Jensen seemed set in his ideas, so Jared didn’t get through to him, but Jared didn’t even care anymore. He was done trying to explain things to Jensen because he just wouldn’t listen.

To top it all off, the full moon had been last week and Jared was still suffering from the aftershocks of the three days he and Jensen had spent in their room fucking like bunnies. They’d been fighting then too, but the pull of the moon had that effect on mates. Even if they were fighting, the full moon made them horny as hell and Jared had been powerless to fight against his want for Jensen. During their mind-blowing sex, Jensen had gotten rough and territorial, leaving Jared bruised and achy. Of course, Jared hadn’t minded at the time, but when he showed himself in public again, the pack started to accuse Jensen of abusing Jared. Although Jared tried to explain that hadn’t been the case, no one was really believing him and it was pissing Jensen off because now Misha and Mike were really harassing him.

Now, Jared was at the hospital waiting for Jim to come see him. Lately, he’d been feeling a little off and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t coming down with the flu or something. That would have been perfect considering the week he was having. Misha and Mike were all but tailing him to make sure Jensen didn’t hurt him, even though he had assured them that it was just rough sex and Jensen wasn’t hurting him. They didn’t believe him apparently because they were convinced that Jensen had Jared so scared that he wouldn’t give him up. Their hearts were in the right place, but Jared had to admit that it was a little annoying.

After what seemed like forever, Jim finally walked into his room, a wide smile on the older man’s lips. “Jared, your sister tells me that you haven’t been feeling well for the last week or so,” he greeted, taking a seat on the chair beside the bed Jared was lying in. “So…what seems to be the matter, son?” If there was something wrong with Jared, Jim wanted to get it under wraps quickly. After all, having the pack beta in the hospital would only add to the tension that was building in the pack because everyone thought Jensen was a mate beater; they didn’t need another thing to worry about.

He offered Jim a small smile in greeting as he waited to give the older man his symptoms. As far as he knew, he was just coming down with some kind of bug and Jim could give him meds and everything would be fine. There was no need to make a huge deal out of it as far as Jared was concerned. “Well…I’ve been having some really bad cramps lately,” Jared explained with a small frown. “And I’ve been kind of sick lately. Like I might vomit, though I’ve only actually thrown up once or twice.” Thinking back to his symptoms over the last few days, Jared added, “Oh…um and there’s been some dizziness. And I’ve had really bad migraines. Not to mention that I’ve been exhausted, though I think that’s just because I’m not getting much sleep.”

When Jared explained that he hadn’t been getting much sleep, Jim frowned slightly. “You and Jensen still fighting?” he asked, knowing that they were but wanting Jared to tell him. He had a feeling that was why Jared wasn’t sleeping, but there was nothing he could do about that. It wasn’t like he could go to their room and force them to make up as much as he may have liked to. When Jared nodded, Jim’s frown deepened as he pushed Jared’s shirt up so he could feel around Jared’s belly. “Don’t worry, you’ll make up and everything will be all right.”

Jared tried to relax as Jim felt around his stomach, wondering what he was doing that for. His sister was the big medical nerd in the family and sometimes, like now, Jared wished that he had followed along in his sister’s footsteps. If there was something seriously wrong with him, then that would just add to the frenzy about Jensen. Everyone would think that Jensen had hurt him and his poor mate would never get any peace. “So…what’s wrong with me?” Jared asked with a weak chuckle, trying to make it sound as if he wasn’t getting a little nervous right now.

Although he wasn’t sure what it was, there was something not sitting right in Jim’s stomach as he felt around Jared’s abdomen. “It’s probably nothing, son,” he assured the obviously worried beta. “I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure, though.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jim asked, “The rumors about Jensen abusing you – they’re just rumors right, Jared? Jensen isn’t actually hitting you, is he?” He had to make sure because if Jared was suffering from internal bleeding, Jim wanted to know if kicking Jensen’s ass was a good move. When Jared assured him that it was all a lie and they’d just had rough sex, Jim nodded, letting Jared know he believed him. “Um…Jared, when you and Jensen had this rough sex, did he use protection?” Jim asked, staring at the monitor in complete shock.

That was probably one of the most random questions Jared had ever been asked in all honesty. He didn’t see how that was relevant, but he figured if Jim was asking, there had to be a reason. “Yeah, of course,” he assured the older man. “Jensen and I always use a condom.” Suddenly, he felt panic rip through him as he put the pieces together. “W-Why?” he asked, craning his neck so he could see the monitor. “Is there something wrong?”

Quickly, Jim shook his head, letting Jared know everything was fine as he gently pushed on Jared’s shoulder, forcing him back onto the bed. “Nothing’s wrong, Jared. It’s just…well, you’re pregnant.” Of course, Jim knew that condoms weren’t always a sure thing when it came to not getting pregnant because there was a chance they’d break, but he didn’t think that would happen with Jensen and Jared for some reason. Sure, they weren’t special or anything when it came to protection, but he just couldn’t see Jared pregnant in his head. It was all a little weird because Jared was still a kid himself. “The condom must have broken or something,” he mused out loud, printing out a picture of the little gray blob that would eventually be a baby and handing it to Jared.

This was all happening too fast and it was actually making Jared dizzy again. “I’m…but…” he muttered, giving his head a small shake. Then it hit him like a punch in the gut. In the woods they hadn’t even thought to use a condom. All they had cared about was screwing and they hadn’t even thought about using protection. God, Jared thought he was going to be sick. He and Jensen hadn’t even had a chance to talk about having kids and now he was pregnant. No, this couldn’t be happening. But Jim was handing him the picture and it was all right there in black and gray. There was no denying this. “C-Can you keep this between us for now?” Jared asked softly, biting into his bottom lip. He didn’t want Jensen hearing about this from anyone else. “Thanks,” he mumbled when Jim nodded, pulling his shirt down and buttoning his jeans again before he headed out of the hospital, his hand moving to his belly to rub the soft skin. He was going to be a daddy. He and Jensen were going to have a baby and he was scared.

**~~**

“I can’t do this anymore, Chris!” Jensen yelled as he jumped out of his chair. Christian had been trying to talk Jensen down for the last half hour and it wasn’t working very well. “They _always_ take Jared’s side and it’s really annoying! I mean, they barely let me talk! You know that they think I’m an abusive ass now, don’t you?” Rolling his eyes, Jensen explained, “It was rough sex! That’s all it was! And Jared was into it, dammit!”

Nodding, Christian pressed his hand against Jensen’s shoulder and guided him into his chair again. “Look, I know this is frustrating for you, but you just gotta hang in there. Jared will stop being mad at you soon and you’ll forget all about this.” Christian and Steve had actually been growing quite close to the members of the pack, and they had gotten some of them to actually accept Jensen a little more. If Jensen lost his cool because he and Jared were having a little lovers quarrel, everything would be ruined. “Just take a deep breath and calm down, Jen.”

Jensen did as he was told, trying to calm down so he didn’t do something stupid. He had a tendency to let his temper get the best of him sometimes and he was trying to work on that. But it seemed that Jared just had this effect on him and if things weren’t going well between the two of them, he was pissed off. “This is all Jared’s fault,” he grumbled under his breath as he huffed like a small child throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get that toy he wanted from the store. 

A small frown came to Christian’s lips when Jensen blamed Jared for whatever was going on with him. Yeah, Christian had a feeling this little episode Jensen was having had something to do with Jared, but he hadn’t planned on mentioning it. But now that Jensen already brought Jared up, there was no harm in letting his theory be known. “Why is this Jared’s fault, Jen?” he asked, not giving his cousin a chance to answer before he was speaking again. “Could it possibly be because you love him and when you’re fighting, it pisses you off because all you want to do it hold him and tell him everything you’re feeling inside?”

Once Christian was done getting all sappy, Jensen rolled his eyes. “How many chick flicks have you been watching lately?” Jensen teased with a small shake of his head. “And no, it’s not that at all. I don’t love Jared. I already told you that. Why won’t you believe me?” Shaking his head again, Jensen explained, “It’s just the sex that I love. Jared’s a great kid and all, but I never wanted a mate. I’m not ever going to want a mate. Some people just aren’t meant to fall in love, Chris, and I’m one of those people.”

Now it was Christian’s turn to roll his eyes, the older wolf leaning on the counter and matching Jensen’s stare with one of his own. “Bullshit,” Christian accused, his stare not wavering even when he saw that Jensen was getting more pissed off. “I can see the way you look at him, Jen. Hell, everyone can see it! You’re just being too stubborn to admit it and it’s bringing you both down. Just admit it, dammit!”

His anger was rising again, and it was taking everything Jensen had in him right now not to jump out of this chair and clock Christian in the jaw. And it had nothing to do with Christian being wrong because Christian was one hundred percent right and Jensen didn’t like hearing it. “I’m not going to own up to something that isn’t true!” Jensen argued. “I don’t love him. And I’m not cut out for this shit, Chris! I can’t be a pack leader. I’m a lone wolf – emphasis on the _lone_. I can’t be responsible for a mate, especially a naïve child barer!” He frowned at the look on Christian’s face, but he couldn’t seem to care enough to try to make his cousin happy again. At least now he’d be left alone about his feelings, hopefully.

Unbeknownst to Jensen and Christian, Jared had walked into the mansion just as Jensen insisted for the last time that he didn’t love him and he’ heard everything Jensen had to say after that. He gasped softly as he slowly backed away from the men when they spotted him. “No,” Jared interrupted when Jensen said his name, shaking his head adamantly. “Just…leave me alone. I mean it, don’t touch me!”

Before Jensen could grab him, Jared turned and ran out of the kitchen, not stopping until he was out of the mansion and at the edge of the woods. He needed time to think. His head was pounding so badly he actually thought he might pass out. So much for his theory on a good marriage with Jensen. The older man had just made it very clear that he had no feelings for Jared and he wanted nothing to do with the pack. It had Jared’s heart breaking as Jensen’s words replayed over and over in his head.

As he was trying to calm himself down, Genevieve walked up to him with a small frown on her lips. “Jared,” she started, pressing her hand to Jared’s back, “can I talk to you for a minute? It’s really important.” Jake was already waiting for them deep in the woods and David was about to start something with Mike. Everything was in motion for the plan and it was up to Genevieve to get the ball rolling. She had confidence in herself that she could make it happen.

“Now’s really not a good time, Genevieve,” Jared tried as he shook his head, moving subtly so Genevieve wasn’t touching him anymore. He really didn’t want anyone’s hands on him right now. “Can it wait until later?” Jared knew that as the pack beta, he had certain obligations, but he really didn’t want to deal with anything while there was so much going on in his own personal life right now.

Sadly, Genevieve shook her head. “No, it really can’t,” she answered. “It’s really important, like I said.” A small smile came to her lips when Jared agreed to talk to her, Genevieve knowing that half of her job was already done now. “Not here though,” she argued, motioning for Jared to follow her into the woods. “It’s too crowded out here, and this is kind of a private matter.”

Although Jared didn’t want to follow here, he did, figuring that he would have a better chance of getting rid of her if he just did as she asked. They were quiet for a few minutes as they moved deeper into the woods, separating themselves from the rest of the pack. “So…what did you want to talk about?” Jared finally asked, wondering if Genevieve hadn’t just wanted to get him alone so she could try to molest him, or something. She was one of the wolves who had been especially upset about his and Jensen’s sudden mating ceremony, and Jared was about ninety eight percent sure that she was unstable. The last thing he needed was to have to fight off Genevieve if she tried something in the middle of the woods.

When Jared asked what she wanted to talk to him about, Genevieve stopped walking, her dark eyes meeting Jake’s through the brush he was hiding in at the moment. Jared had turned his back on the brush so he could look at Genevieve, which gave Jake a great opportunity to inject him with the tranquilizers. Slowly, Genevieve reached up and cupped Jared’s cheek, a single tear slipping down her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Jared,” she whispered, quickly closing her eyes before she had to watch Jared get drugged. She let out a soft sigh when she heard Jared’s body fall to the ground, eyes blinking open to meet Jake’s own. “Where’s David?” she asked before she turned her attention to Jared’s sleeping form on the ground, feeling awful for her part in this kidnapping. But she knew that it was going to be in Jared’s best interest ultimately. 

His attention snapped towards the small clearing where David was supposed to meet them once he was finished before Jake explained, “He’ll be here as soon as he’s finished with his part.” Looking around the area, Jake suddenly got a little scared that someone was going to find them while they waited for David. “Come on, we gotta move him into the brush so no one can find him while we wait,” he ordered, grabbing Jared’s arms and tugging the larger man towards the trees and shrubs to hide him from view.

**~~**

Jensen had been all about running after Jared and getting him to calm down, but as soon as he walked outside, a fight was breaking out in the front yard and he had to go deal with it. As the alpha, he needed to break up all of the disputes that happened and it was more of a hassle than Jensen wanted to deal with – especially when Jared was angry. Still, he wanted to prove to Jeffrey, Samantha, and Jim that he could handle being the alpha without their help, so he was going to deal with this and then go get Jared to listen to his side of the story.

It wasn’t hard to pull the two men apart because they hadn’t morphed into their wolf forms yet, though Jensen had a feeling it was heading there quickly. He needed to make sure that didn’t happen because it would only lead to someone getting hurt. They’d had enough injuries in the pack for one day that was for sure. “Hey, break it up!” Jensen ordered as he pulled the two apart. “Stop it!” He shoved Mike back when he tried to charge David again, warning him to cool off before he did something he’d regret. “What the hell is going on here?”

Everyone around them waited with baited breath for either Mike or David to come clean about what had caused the fight. “He fucking knows who attacked Tom and he won’t tell me!” Mike shouted, once again trying to get at David, only to be shoved back by Jensen again. Mike knew that attacking one of his pack mates was not something to be taken lightly, but he was about to rip David’s throat out. All he needed to do was get past Jensen and there would be nothing stopping him from getting the answers that he wanted.

Hearing that David knew who was responsible for the attack on Tom, Jensen quickly turned his attention to him, frowning deeply. “You know who attacked Tom?” he asked, his frown deepening when David didn’t answer him, but merely gave him a glare. If looks could kill, Jensen would have been six feet under, for sure. Taking a step closer to David, hoping to intimidate him because he was higher up on the food chain than David was, Jensen ordered, “Tell me what you know, David. Or I _will_ let Mike beat it out of you.”

He knew there was a reason he hated Jensen. Angrily, David pushed Jensen away from him, growling softly at the alpha. “I don’t have to tell you shit!” he argued with a shake of his head. “You may be the pack alpha, but you don’t scare me. And I don’t have to bow down to you! I _won’t_ bow down to you!” David quickly shifted into his wolf form and ran towards the woods, knowing that if someone followed him, he’d have to lead them away from Jared’s body before he could meet up with the team to take Jared back to Justin. His plan had worked just like he wanted it to, which was great. Genevieve had a chance to get Jared into the woods and they were probably lying low while they waited for him. He couldn’t have asked for better luck.

As soon as David took off, Mike was about to run after him, but Jensen stopped him, knowing if he let Mike go after David, they’d have to be burying a body later. Whether that body would be Mike or David, Jensen had to admit that he was actually a little curious, but he wasn’t going to let his curiosity get the best of him. Jared would kill him if he allowed one of the pack members to be mauled by another just for sport. Speaking of Jared, Jensen needed to go find him and try to explain that he had just been mouthing off to Christian and he didn’t really mean anything he’d said. Well, not _all_ of what he’d said, anyway. “Don’t go after him,” he warned Mike as he started to head off. “We’ll get him when he comes back. And if Tom wakes up before that, we won’t even need his information. He’s not worth it.”

With that, Jensen jogged back towards the mansion, ready to check their room to make sure Jared hadn’t doubled back while Jensen had been handling his pack. He understood that Jared probably wanted nothing to do with him right now, but he wasn’t about to just sit back and wait for Jared to come to him. If he did that, he could be waiting a long time because when Jared got mad, he usually tended to stay mad until there was an apology involved. Most of the time, Jensen didn’t even know what he was apologizing for, but this time it was going to be clear. What he had said to Christian had been out of line, and he knew it. Maybe it was time to just fess up to the fact that he was in love with Jared and be done with it.

Their bedroom was empty when he finally got there, causing Jensen to sigh in frustration. He knew all of Jared’s hang outs after being with him for the last month, so he was going to have to check them all. Sure, he knew his search might just have him coming right back here to find Jared later, but he couldn’t just sit here and wait for Jared. From his experience, Jared liked to be chased and Jensen was going to do just that. Sitting here on his ass wasn’t going to fly and when Jared got back home, the younger man would only be more pissed off because he hadn’t gone after him. 

Quickly, Jensen jogged down the stairs and headed into various rooms throughout the mansion where he knew Jared liked to hide when he didn’t want to be bothered. There were quite a few of them and Jensen checked each and every one, frowning deeply when his didn’t find Jared in any of them. Jared didn’t really leave the mansion or the yard too often, but when he did, there was one specific place he liked to go. The young beta had a thing for herbal tea and there was a little café about three block away where Jared liked to get them from. If Jared wasn’t here, Jensen had a feeling that’s where he was going to find his mate. Grabbing his jacket, Jensen headed out, letting Jeffrey know where he was going in case anyone wanted him. He didn’t think his pack would need him in the few minutes it would take him to go get Jared and haul his ass back here, but just in case, it was good to let someone know where he was going.

**~~**

About five minutes after Jensen left for the café, Jim came out into the yard to inform Mike that Tom had finally woken up. They had all been worried that even after Jared healed Tom he wasn’t going to pull through because he had been out for so long. Jim had found out later that Tom had been injected with liquid silver, which explained why he was in a coma, but he was confident that Tom would pull through. After all, Jared had taken away most of the damage the day he healed him, and the rest was up to Tom. It definitely helped that Tom was a fighter, that was for sure.

Mike quickly made his way to the hospital and took his mate’s hand in his own, smiling down at his alpha. “Hey babe,” he whispered softly, knowing that Tom still had a headache because Jim had gone through his current medical state. There had been some internal damage during the fight, but Jared healed that, though the injection site was still a little irritated. Mike was doing his best to not touch it, but all he wanted to do right now was to pull Tom into a hug and hold him close so nothing else could hurt him. “How are you feeling?”

To be honest, Tom felt like shit. He felt like someone had hit him with a truck and then turned around and ran him over while he was down just for good measure. But he knew he couldn’t tell Mike that because he could already sense the worry radiating off his mate in waves. So, he put on a smile and gave his head a small nod. “I’m all right,” he assured Mike, allowing one hand to rub up and down Mike’s arm in a small offering of comfort. He hated seeing Mike so worried and he would have given anything – said anything – to make that worried look disappear from his mate’s face. “I’m still a little sore in some spots, but I’m ready to get out of here. I wanna go home with you.”

That was exactly what Mike wanted too, but Jim was insisting on keeping Tom here a few days to make sure that he was definitely one hundred percent fine, which Mike couldn’t blame him for. Mike was actually happy that Jim wasn’t giving in to his demands for him to let Tom go home because it meant he was looking out for Tom’s well-being, which was exactly what Mike was hoping he would do. When it came to Tom, Mike had no will power and he knew if Tom asked to go home, he would have helped him get dressed so they could get out of here faster. But Jim had made it very clear that Tom wasn’t going anywhere until Jim was satisfied that he was fine, so Mike knew he wasn’t allowed to take him anywhere, which got rid of the temptation.

Slowly, Mike shook his head, pressing a soft kiss to Tom’s lips. “Sorry babe,” he whispered. “Jim wants to keep you here for a few days to make sure you’re actually fine. He said that your injection site was still a little sore and irritated and he wants to make sure it doesn’t get infected.” He slowly ran his fingers through Tom’s thick brown hair, smiling softly as his lover. “Jared might have to come back and give you another dose of his special healing powers, so Jim wants to make sure he can monitor your condition very closely.” He could tell that Tom wasn’t happy about this, but he wasn’t going to budge. “We just want to make sure you’re out of the woods completely before we let you leave. You should take it as a compliment. It means we all care about you.”

Returning Mike’s smile, Tom nodded in agreement, knowing that it was a good idea to stay where Jim could help him if something happened. He didn’t like it, but he knew it was a good idea. And it did kind of make him feel better to know that everyone was so worried about him. “Jared healed me?” he asked softly, smiling once more when Mike nodded. “I should really tell him thank you, don’t you think? Maybe you can get him here later today so I can tell him how much I appreciate his help?” It was only polite to thank someone after they help you, and Tom would love Jared’s company. They were really good friends, after all and he had been out of it for the last few weeks, so he wanted to get back to normal, which meant visits from friends. 

At Tom’s request, Mike nodded, letting his mate know that he would have Jared stop by. He was curious though who had attacked his lover and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to leave without getting an answer. If David knew, then Tom had to know as well, right? Mike was hoping at least as he bit into his bottom lip as rubbed his thumb across his lover’s lower lip. “Do you know who attacked you, babe?” he asked softly, hoping that Tom hadn’t been attacked from behind or something. If they had a positive identification on Tom’s attacker, it would make it a lot easier to find him and bring him to justice. He knew that Jim had a theory that it was Danneel, but he wanted to have proof before he attacked someone innocent. Not that Danneel was innocent, exactly, but maybe she hadn’t committed this crime.

When Mike asked him if he had seen his attacker, Tom bit his bottom lip, trying to remember who had hurt him. “I saw him, yeah,” Tom answered with a small nod. “He um…he had short blonde hair that he spiked up and dark brown eyes.” Furrowing his brow, Tom continued, “He came up to me and acted like he was lost, but when I went to give him directions, he went nuts and attacked me. I could feel the knife cutting into my side and then I felt something else pierce my skin before everything went blurry. That must have been when he shot me up with the liquid silver. I don’t even remember getting back to the mansion or getting to the hospital.”

By the way Tom described his attack, Mike had a feeling they were dealing with another hunter. Maybe a friend of Mark Pellegrino had just now found out where Jared was and he was trying to avenge Mark’s death? But that had been ten years ago, and it just didn’t seem to fit right. Still, he figured there was no harm in asking if there was a chance that Tom had been attacked by a hunter. “Babe, was it a hunter who attacked you? Maybe…someone found us and they knew that this pack killed a hunter back in the day and he wanted revenge?”

He didn’t even have to think about it before Tom was shaking his head, letting Mike know that there was no possible way his attacker had been a hunter. “No, he was a werewolf,” Tom assured his mate. “I could tell. He was strong and he had this scent…almost like that girl who kept coming around here looking for Jensen?” When Mike tossed out Danneel’s name, Tom quickly nodded. “Yeah, I could smell her all over him. I mean, she must have known him, or something. But he was definitely a werewolf, not a hunter.”

**~~**

A wide smile came to Justin’s lips as David and Jake dragged Jared into the cabin they were currently squatting in. His plan had worked out very well so far and he had a feeling it was only going to get better as the days went by. There were two ways this could end: Jensen could think that Jared finally got fed up with him and left, or Jensen would figure out that he’d been kidnapped. Either way, it was going to drive the alpha crazy, which would mean he was off his game. That was exactly what Justin needed. If Jensen wasn’t focused, he would be easier to attack and the chances of Justin winning the battle would be increased. 

In a way, Justin kind of wished that Jensen realized that Jared had been kidnapped. He would spend all of his time trying to find Jared, which would really leave him open for attack. And his pack would be no help because they all cared more about Jared than they did about Jensen. Hell, if Justin was really lucky, they would even turn on Jensen and blame him for Jared’s abduction. Even if Jensen hadn’t been the one to take Jared, it was still a way to get at him, which could be traced back to Jensen. The pack was going to be pissed off when they found all of this out and the odds of them turning on Jensen were pretty good. And if Justin had Jake or David go plant some ideas into certain pack members’ heads, those chances would be even greater.

“Be careful when you take him down the stairs,” Justin ordered Jake and David sternly. “I don’t want him to have any marks on him…yet.” Justin intended to torture Jared a little bit, but he wanted to make sure he was the first to lay a hand on the young beta. After all, Jared’s beauty hadn’t gone unnoticed by Justin. And although he was in a relationship with Danneel, they weren’t mated, so it wasn’t like he would be cheating on her if he did something with Jared. Besides, even if she considered it cheating, Danneel had started that ball rolling when she spread her legs for Jensen fucking Ackles.

Although David would have loved nothing more than to knock Jared off every step on the way down to the basement and give him bruises, broken bones, and possibly a concussion, he figured that it was a good idea to listen to Justin for the time being. As far as he could tell, Justin was acting as this pack of misfit’s alpha and since David wasn’t about to challenge him for the role, he needed to play nice and follow orders. So, he lifted Jared off the ground with the help of Jake and they carried him awkwardly down the stairs. 

Once they had Jared in the basement, they headed back upstairs to get the supplies they would need to keep Jared there. After all, it wasn’t like the pack beta was just going to sit around in a basement as a captive if there was a chance of escape. Justin had planned ahead for this after David gave him the tour of the cabin, and Danneel and Justin had gone out to get the necessary tools to hold Jared while Genevieve, Jake, and David had done the actual kidnapping. The supplies consisted of long, heavy-duty chains, a few metal bolts to hook the chains to, and a silver collar.

It was a grave crime for one wolf to put a silver collar on another wolf, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Jared was by no means small, and he wasn’t weak either. If it came down to a fight between Jared and anyone else in the room, there was no guarantee Jared would lose, so they needed something to keep the upper hand. Justin had insisted on getting the collar because it would keep Jared weak, which would make him a lot easier to deal with. Really, David had to give him props for the idea because it was perfect. With a silver collar around his neck, Jared wouldn’t be able to do much of anything, which would keep him in the position they all wanted him in. It was actually kind of brilliant as long as they didn’t get caught.

They made quick work of getting the bags of tools down the stairs and setting up the basement to essentially look like a dungeon. Jared would be waking up soon and although he would be disoriented, they wanted to have him locked up good and tight before that happened. It was much easier to deal with an unconscious body than a struggling conscious body as far as David was concerned. He made Jake do all of the setting up for the most part, only helping out here and there when Jake had done something wrong. Having someone who basically hung on your every word and thought you were the most amazing thing in the world definitely had its perks. 

Once the room was all set up, David helped Jake snap the cuffs around Jared’s wrists and his ankles, making sure they were tight so there was no chance Jared could escape. Justin had given specific instructions not to put the collar on Jared until he woke up, so they left that sitting off to the side, figuring Justin wanted to snap it around Jared’s neck himself. There was just something about the way Justin had been looking at Jared earlier that wasn’t sitting right in David’s gut. Like maybe he had other plans for the young beta instead of just letting him rot down here while they terrorized Jensen. Not that David cared what Justin planned on doing with Jared, but he might have wanted in on the action. 

Almost as soon as Justin made his appearance downstairs, a soft moan broke from Jared, signaling that the younger wolf had finally regained consciousness. Before Jared could really get a sense of what was going on, Justin was pulling the black leather gloves on that he would need to handle the collar and walking over to Jared. “Here you go buddy,” he smiled as he pulled Jared’s head back with the grip he had in Jared’s hair. “We can’t have you shifting on us, now can we?” he asked as he snapped the collar around Jared’s neck, smiling when Jared groaned in pain. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a good time and Justin couldn’t wait.


	8. Chapter Eight

Jensen sighed as he walked back to the mansion, wondering how he had missed Jared. He had gone to every one of Jared’s favorite hang outs and he had made sure to check very thoroughly for the younger man. For sure, he’d thought Jared would have been at the café, but he had clearly been wrong. Sighing, he walked into the yard, heading back into the mansion to see if Jared had returned to their room while he had been out. Every fiber of his being was wishing that Jared had come home because if he hadn’t, Jensen was going to have to get some help finding him, which wasn’t going to help his case with the pack at all.

A deep frown marred his lips when he couldn’t find Jared in their room, wondering if the younger male was doing these things on purpose or if he just didn’t know Jensen was looking for him. Surely, he could feel that Jensen was worried about him, but maybe Jared was ignoring it because he was mad at him. He didn’t know why Jared would do that, but he wasn’t ruling it out as an option as he let another sigh escape his lips, falling onto the bed where he planned on getting a little bit of sleep while he waited for Jared to come home. If Jared wasn’t back by the time he woke up, then Jensen was going to worry, he decided.

He quickly glanced towards the door to make sure that he had locked it before he closed his eyes and settled in for a nap. After all, he’d had a rough day and if he was going to have to deal with his lover’s wrath when Jared finally came home, he was going to need the extra rest. Jared could get a little hard to deal with when he was angry, but Jensen knew that he was going to deserve it this time, which meant he would deal with it. Sometimes, he didn’t think he deserved it, but this time, it was definitely warranted. And that was the only reason he wasn’t going to complain about it.

Satisfied that he wasn’t going to be bothered for the next few hours unless it was by Jared, Jensen closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep. Jensen never really slept all that deeply unless it was right after a session with Jared, so he was used to this. What he wasn’t used to was not having Jared next to him like a massive wall of body heat, snoring softly into his ear as he tried to catch at least an hour of sleep. Jensen soon realized that he didn’t like this; not having Jared lying next to him was too weird now that he was used to it. 

Sighing softly, Jensen pushed himself into a seated position, eyes scanning the room until they landed on the clock. He had managed to sleep for all of ten minutes before the loneliness crept in. So much for that sleep that he was planning on getting. He was going to have to go look for Jared again. This wasn’t like his mate; Jared had been gone for nearly three hours and if he would have come into the yard or the mansion, Jensen would have been able to feel it. That meant that Jared wasn’t anywhere close, and he hadn’t spoken to anyone else in the pack, which was really unnerving. Maybe it was time to get some help from the rest of the pack members. No, he’d tell Christian and Steve because he trusted them, but he wasn’t going to get anyone else involved. They would all blame him for Jared’s disappearance and he really couldn’t deal with that on top of finding Jared. 

Not wasting any time, Jensen jumped out of the bed and left the comfort of his room, jogging down the stairs as he subtly sniffed the air, checking for Christian and Steve. Thankfully, his friends were in their bedroom, which meant he wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else. If they had been in the yard, Jensen probably would have just waited to ask for their help and gone off by himself. He knocked on the door gently when he reached it, rolling his eyes when he heard his cousin and his mate swearing because they had company. Sex wasn’t too high on his list of priorities when Jared was missing and he was sure they would feel the same way when they heard the news. 

The door flung open to reveal a pissed off Christian with a blanket wrapped around his waist, and it nearly had Jensen rolling on the floor laughing. Before Christian could yell at him, which Jensen knew he was planning on doing, he pushed his way through the door, giving a small nod in greeting towards Steve. “I know you guys were a little busy in here,” he started, figuring he should at least give a little bit of an apology for barging in, “but we have a problem.” Thankfully Christian kept his mouth shut so Jensen could explain the situation. “I haven’t seen Jared since he ran out of the mansion after he overheard us talking.”

Although Christian could sense that his cousin was worried about his mate, he couldn’t blame Jared for wanting to stay away from Jensen after what he’d said. Hell, Christian had half a mind to stay away from Jensen until he admitted to being in love with Jared, but he wasn’t cruel. He knew that he and Steve were really the only friends Jensen had here and they needed to show him support. Still, it pissed him off that Jensen was trying to keep Jared at arm’s length like this. “I don’t blame him for wanting to stay away from you,” Christian admitted. “What you said was hurtful and wrong. He probably just needs some time to cool off.”

Quickly, Jensen shook his head, grabbing Christian’s arm when he tried to move towards the bed. “You’re not listening to me, Christian. Jared’s missing!” he insisted. “I’ve checked everywhere for him. All of the places he usually goes when he’s upset and he’s nowhere around.” Shaking his head, Jensen began pacing as he explained, “The last time I saw him, he was headed towards the woods and I was following him, but then I had to deal with Mike and David. I don’t know where he went after that, and I’m really starting to worry. If something happens to him, I know the pack will blame me and I didn’t do anything to him.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jensen caught Christian’s gaze. “I need you to help me find him. Please?”

It wasn’t hard to see that Jensen was worried, but he was asking for Christian’s help and he _still_ wasn’t admitting that he was worried about Jared for the right reasons. Jensen was hiding under the pretense that he was worried the pack would blame him, and while that may have been true, Christian knew that there was more to it than that. “Yeah, I’ll help you,” he agreed, glancing at Steve who was clearly thinking the same thing as Christian was about Jensen not admitting his true feelings. “As soon as you admit to us the _real_ reason you want our help. And Jensen, don’t lie because that’s how you got yourself into this mess in the first place.”

Of course Jensen knew what Christian was talking about, but he wasn’t ready to admit it yet. Not to himself and certainly not to anyone else. But he needed help finding Jared, and this was apparently the only way he was going to get it. “What do you want me to say, Chris?” he asked, obviously annoyed. “Do you want me to admit that I’m worried Jared might be in trouble? Or maybe that I want your help finding _your_ pack beta because he might be hurt?” Taking a step closer to Christian, Jensen concluded, “Or do you want me to admit that I want your help because I love him? Fine, I do, okay? I love Jared, and now he’s missing! Are you going to help me find him, or not?”

Christian couldn’t hide the small smile that came to his lips when Jensen finally admitted that he loved Jared, the older wolf satisfied enough to go help Jensen find his mate. Surely, Jared couldn’t have gotten too far because the young beta was very reliant on his pack. Christian would be willing to bet that Jared hadn’t been away from his pack for more than a few hours and he’d already been gone for three hours. If they were lucky, Jared would be jogging back to the yard and they wouldn’t even have to be out there too long to look for him. Jensen would be happy, at least. “I’ll help you,” he assured his cousin, stooping to pick his pants up from the floor. “Just give us a few minutes.”

They didn’t have a few minutes, dammit! That was what Jensen wanted to yell at the other man, but he merely nodded, knowing that Christian couldn’t exactly head out in the nude. Then again, they were probably going to be shifting into their wolf forms at some point during the search, so it probably didn’t matter if Christian was naked. Still, it didn’t seem worth it to argue, so he just waited outside the room, eyes closing as he pressed his head against the closed door. God, he just hoped they found Jared and that he was all right. Jensen didn’t know what he would do if Jared had run off and gotten himself hurt because of a lie he had told because he couldn’t express his feelings.

**~~**

“Please,” Jared whispered as he gave his head a small shake, “just let me go? I won’t tell anyone…what happened, I swear.” He had been stuck here like this for what he assumed was over a few hours because he could sense that the moon was going to be rising soon. The wolf inside him was trying desperately to come out, but the silver collar around his neck was preventing it from happening. Jared wasn’t sure who was holding him here, but he knew that whoever it was obviously didn’t care about his well-being.

If he could remember anything about what happened that led him to being locked up like some kind of animal, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad. The last thing he remembered was heading into the woods with Genevieve and then nothing. Something inside him was telling him that she had something to do with this, but she was harmless. At least that’s what Jared had thought when he followed her into the woods. Sure, she had a crush on him, but that didn’t automatically mean she would resort to kidnapping him so she could be with him, right? Besides, there was no way she could have overpowered him, so if she was behind this, she had to have an accomplice. Jared couldn’t think of anyone else who might want to hurt him and help Genevieve, so he was at a loss.

Another thing that would have made his task of figuring out what happened would have been seeing his captor. Right now, whoever was keeping him here was shrouded in darkness, which had him feeling very uneasy. Could this possibly be the work of a rival pack? Or maybe someone from Jensen’s past was trying to teach Jensen a lesson and using Jared to do it. His sister had warned him about this, and Jared hadn’t listened. Maybe now he was going to pay for not being more cautious. Once again, Jensen was going to get Jared into trouble; he never should have mated with Jensen. It was obvious Jensen didn’t want him and this whole thing had just been an emotional roller coaster that Jared hadn’t needed. He would have been better off mating with Genevieve. At least she was safe.

He gasped softly when he felt someone touch his arm, trying to curl in on himself and get away from the touch. Until he knew what was going on, Jared didn’t want to have any contact, and he was hoping his captor was going to honor his wishes, though he had a feeling it wasn’t going to happen. “Please?” he whispered again, his head turning slightly to get a look at the person in the room. Even that little amount of movement felt like he was trying to move the world and he groaned once more, head rolling on the cement floor he was on. It was easy to tell the person holding him prisoner was a wolf, but Jared still hadn’t figured out _why_ he was here, which is what was really bothering him. 

When he felt the hand on him again, he groaned in pain, the man twisting Jared’s arm in his grasp and forcing Jared to roll onto his back. “Please what, Jared?” the man asked, an evil smirk on his lips as he twisted just a bit harder, wanting to hear Jared gasp in pain again. The more pain he could cause the younger wolf the better as far as he was concerned. And this was only the beginning. He had a lot more planned for the Padalecki beta and he just couldn’t wait to try it all out. First order of business was to humiliate him, so a few changes needed to be made.

Slowly, he moved to straddle Jared’s hips, smiling that same evil grin down at Jared as he ran his hands over the young beta’s torso. “Do you know who I am, Jared?” he asked as he slid his hands down Jared’s stomach, finger briefly brushing against the waistband of Jared’s jeans before he pushed his hands back up towards Jared’s chest, pinching his nipple through Jared’s thin cotton T-shirt. Again, the smile returned as Jared shook his head, gasping in pain when his nipple was abused. “My name is Justin,” he explained, releasing the nub and slowly moving his hands down once more. “I’m a friend of Jensen’s. Well…maybe not a friend, but an _acquaintance_.”

Another small groan escaped Jared when Justin pushed his hands up Jared’s shirt. “What are you…doing to me?” Jared asked, his voice barely above a whisper because he was so weak from the silver collar. “Get your…hands off of me! This is…it’s wrong!” He tried to struggle away from Justin, but his body wasn’t listening to his brain. The silver was pumping through his veins with every beat of his heart, poisoning him, and he was powerless to stop it. If this collar didn’t come off soon, his body was going to shut down. “Please, what are you doing this to me?”

Again, Justin smirked, loving that Jared was trying so hard to get away but couldn’t. It made him feel good knowing that he had Jensen’s mate and he could do whatever he wanted with him. The possibilities were endless and it had Justin’s dick twitching with excitement. But it wasn’t time for that yet; Jared needed to be at his breaking point before Justin let himself indulge in that way. Maybe after a few more days. Right now, he was just going to focus on humiliating Jared and then hurting him in any way he saw fit. Another chuckle escaped him when Jared asked why he was doing this to him. “You really don’t know anything about Jensen’s past, do you Jared?” he asked with a small shake of his head.

Justin didn’t need an answer to know that he was right. The look on Jared’s face was enough. “Well, he wasn’t always an ass, really,” he started as he pinched Jared’s opposite nipple, tugging at the bud, forcing another gasp from Jared’s lips. “He and I were friends at one point, actually. It was about a year ago that we…couldn’t settle our differences and kind of lost what friendship we’d had. At one point, I would have called him my best friend – until he fucked my girlfriend.” Releasing Jared’s nipple and running his hands over the younger wolf’s chest again, Justin concluded, “Now, I just want to hurt him. And you’re the perfect way to do that.”

If Justin was telling the truth, which Jared had no idea why he wouldn’t be, Jensen apparently had gotten around before he came to mate with Jared. It kind of made Jared sick to realize just how experienced Jensen had been when he came into his life. Jared had been a virgin, and although he knew there weren’t many virginal alpha’s around, he had kind of hoped he would have found one. Jensen was so far off from that. “How is that all Jensen’s fault?” Jared asked, trying to distract Justin. Maybe if he made him mad enough, Justin would let his guard down and he’d do something stupid, offering Jared a chance for escape. He just hoped that if that happened, he was able to get his body to work long enough to get out of here. “Shouldn’t you be blaming your girlfriend too? I mean, it takes two people to have sex.”

Chuckling, Justin nodded, letting Jared know he knew what he meant. “Yes, I did blame her as well. And she’s paying for her crimes right now, don’t worry about it.” Really, Danneel wasn’t doing anything that would constitute as paying for her crimes, but Justin had beat her around a little bit when she told him the truth. And she still stuck around because she was so worried about being left alone. It worked in Justin’s favor actually because Danneel was very useful when it came to getting the more female jobs done; like flirting and distractions while Justin was working on something else. “But Jensen was more to blame than she was. He knew that she was mine and he still fucked her anyway. Like our friendship didn’t mean anything as long as he was getting his dick wet!”

“Maybe she was just a slut,” Jared offered, giving Justin as much of a glare as he could manage in his weakened state. That statement earned him a hard slap to the face, his head snapping to the side with the force of the blow. He groaned softly in pain as he rolled his head back so that he was looking back up at Justin. “Are you that pissed about the truth?” he asked, spitting blood onto the floor and moving his hand a little to wipe the blood off the corner of his mouth. “Did you ever think that maybe she had been trying to get into Jensen’s pants for a while and he just stopped resisting? Why does it have to be all on Jensen?”

Angrily, Justin slapped Jared again, gripping his cheeks and forcing him to look at him again. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You don’t know Jensen as well as you think you do, and you sure as _hell_ don’t know Danneel!” Shoving Jared’s head back onto the cement, Justin continued, “The only thing you know about Danneel is what I wanted you to know. She’s not hung up on Jensen anymore, Jared. That was just a distraction; something to get you and Jensen fighting so I could get to him. But then there was you and it was so much easier to grab you than it was to get at Jensen. I think my plan worked so well, don’t you?”

Before he gave Jared the chance to answer, he grabbed the collar of Jared’s T-shirt and ripped it in half, shoving Jared’s shirt off to the sides, revealing the younger man’s smooth flesh. Oh yeah, he was going to enjoy marking this flesh. “I was going to ask her to mate with me, you know?” Justin continued. “But Jensen ruined that and for almost six months, I couldn’t even look at her. And it was all Jensen’s fault. Hell, for all I know, he raped her. I never asked to make sure that the sex was consensual.” Justin could see how his words got to Jared and he smiled again. “But don’t worry, Jared. I’m going to make sure to get him back for ruining my life. When he gets you back, you’re going to be so far gone, they might not be able to fix you.”

As Justin ripped his pants off, Jared tried to struggle again, wondering what the hell Justin was trying to accomplish by stripping him naked. The only thing he could think of was rape, and he wasn’t going to let that happen without a fight. “Stop it!” he growled, his inner wolf all but lying dormant inside him when he wanted nothing more than to bring it to the surface and rip Justin apart. The silver was affecting the wolf part of him faster than the human part, understandably, but it wasn’t working in Jared’s favor. “Get the fuck off me!”

Once Jared was naked, Justin smiled, climbing off the younger wolf and grabbing a box that he had sitting on the stairs. Jared couldn’t see what it was, but he had a feeling it wasn’t anything good. “Do you like to play with fire, Jared?” Justin asked with a small smirk, lighting the match that he had just pulled out of the box in his hand. Another wide smile came to his lips when he saw the fear in Jared’s eyes. “I do,” he whispered before he threw the match onto Jared’s stomach, watching as Jared squirmed and screamed in pain before the match went out. Jared’s voice may have been weak when he tried to talk, but those screams were ripped out nice and loud.

Pain flared through Jared’s body with every move he made as he squirmed and tried to get away from the matches that were being thrown at him. Match after match landed on his body, singing the wiry curls just above his penis when they landed there and the fine course hairs on his upper thighs when they landed lower. His body wasn’t healing like it usually did, so he felt like everything was heightened and he hated it. After a few minutes, Jared was finally consumed with the darkness that had been blurring his vision since the third or fourth match.

A deep frown came to Justin’s lips when Jared passed out. Sighing, he placed the half empty box of matched on the stairs again and headed into the kitchen where he could relax for a few minutes while he waited for Jared to come to. Jared wasn’t going to be much fun now that he was unconscious, after all, so Justin had some time to kill. “Danneel!” he called, wanting to get her out of the house as soon as possible. There was probably already a search party established for Jared and Justin needed them to be distracted. That’s where Danneel came in; it was kind of her specialty.

When she heard her name being called, Danneel sauntered into the kitchen, hand on her hip as she cocked her head to the side. “What?” she asked, obviously annoyed that she had been beckoned into the kitchen. She wasn’t Justin’s slave, even if he treated her like one. In all honesty, Danneel wanted no part of this plan anymore. At first, she was fine with stirring up a little trouble between Jensen and Jared because she was pissed that he chose Jared over her, but she had never agreed to kidnapping Jared. This was crossing the line.

As soon as Danneel walked into the room, Justin could tell that she was pissed off about something. He figured if he didn’t mention it though, she wouldn’t bring it up and he wouldn’t have to deal with it. “I want you to go find Jensen and keep him busy for a while,” Justin ordered. “The search for Jared is probably already underway and I’m not ready for them to find him yet. There’s still so much fun to be had with him.” And Justin was only including the fun _he_ was going to have with Jared. David, Genevieve and Jake were all allowed to take a shot at him too if they wanted. He had a feeling Danneel wouldn’t want to participate because she never really got her hands _that_ dirty, but he wasn’t going to deny her the opportunity. The more the merrier in his opinion. It would break Jared faster.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough to him already?” Danneel asked as she rolled her eyes. “I heard him screaming down there for almost an hour, not to mention the overwhelming smell of burned flesh.” She was actually surprised that Justin was resorting to torture now. And he was doing it all to get back at Jensen because she’d hooked up with him one night. In her opinion, that was a lame reason to attack and innocent man – especially since she and Justin weren’t even close anymore.

He frowned when Danneel questioned his plans for Jared, wondering why she cared so damn much. “I don’t think you should worry about what I’m doing to Jared,” Justin warned with a small growl. “You should be more focused on doing your job and keeping Jensen distracted.” Taking a step closer to Danneel, Justin warned, “If Jensen finds us before we’re finished with Jared, it’s going to be on you. And I’m not going to take that lightly, Danneel. Just remember that before you try to do anything stupid.”

With that, Justin left the kitchen, heading upstairs to have a little chat with David, Genevieve and Jake. Today was all about humiliation and pain for Jared, so Justin was going to see if Jared’s pack mates wanted to help him execute the day’s activities. After all, with the silver collar on his neck, Justin knew Jared probably wasn’t going to last long. He’d been to a doctor to see how long a werewolf could survive trapped in a silver collar, and the doctor had given the unfortunate werewolf a maximum of thirty six hours. Jared had already been in the collar for twelve.

Smiling at the werewolves in the room, Justin asked, “So, who wants to get their hands dirty with Jared?” His smile widened when he instantly saw David and Genevieve perk up at the offer. Jake on the other hand seemed unimpressed, almost like he was bored. “Jake, if you don’t want to help, feel free to go watch the cabin and make sure no one finds us,” Justin offered. Torturing people just wasn’t for everyone. He watched as Jake left the room before he turned his attention back to David and Genevieve. “Jared’s downstairs passed out right now, but he should be coming to soon. It’s probably best if we are down there when he wakes up.”

Both David and Genevieve followed Justin into the basement where Jared was being kept. Genevieve gasped softly when she saw the large bruise on Jared’s cheek and the various burn marks on his body, her hands covering her mouth as she shook her head. “What have you done to him?” Genevieve asked softly, feeling tears spring to her eyes. She’d heard Jared screaming earlier, but she hadn’t thought it was this bad. For the first time since she agreed to this plan, she wasn’t sure if it was the right decision. She had wanted to make Jared realize he was in love with her and not Jensen, but instead she was allowing him to be hurt by Justin while she sat upstairs and sipped wine and listened to his screams. 

Again, Justin smiled as he admired his handiwork over Genevieve’s shoulder. “Oh, nothing much,” Justin assured the woman. “We were just having a little fun.” Slowly, his hands slid down Genevieve’s shoulders, down the sides of her breasts before he gripped her hips. “Don’t you have a crush on Jared?” he asked, smiling once more when she nodded. “He’s your…soul mate, right? Well, don’t you think you should let him know that when he wakes up? Don’t you want to show him that you love him and that he loves you?” Genevieve nodded again and Justin leaned in, whispering an order into her ear, playing with a lock of her hair before he pulled away. “David, we need to talk strategy upstairs. Sooner or later, Jensen is going to find this place and we need a plan for when he does.”

David didn’t argue when he was told they needed to talk strategy, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. The pack was probably already frantically searching for Jared, so David didn’t think they had a whole lot of time before they were discovered. Still, he was kind of curious as to what Genevieve was doing with Jared down there. Knowing Genevieve and her obsession with Jared, it was nothing good. And David wanted in on the action. Since Jared mated with Jensen, David had been pissed off because that was _his_ title that Jensen had stolen, dammit! “All right, what were you thinking when they get here? I was thinking about those guns that you bought while you were shopping for supplies to keep Jared under control. Silver bullets would drop a werewolf faster than anything else.”

[](http://pics.livejournal.com/wincest_whore/pic/000191q2/)

When Jared finally came to, he felt even weaker than he had before he’d lost consciousness. The silver was weakening him at a rapid pace and he was finding it hard to keep his eyes open for long. He groaned softly when he felt a hand on his dick, forcing his head off the ground so he could see who was assaulting him only to have it flop back down after a few seconds. Luckily, he’d gotten a good look at his attacker before he lost his energy. “Gen-Genevieve,” he whispered, coughing softly after saying the word. His voice was even going quickly. “Pl-Please…I need help. Silver…poisoning….me.” His eyes rolled back into his head as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him again.

Another soft groan escaped him when he felt lips pressing against his own. Jared tried to turn his head away from the lips as Genevieve’s tongue came out to play, licking her way into Jared’s mouth, but he was just too weak. “Shhh…Jared, babe, it’s okay,” Genevieve whispered with a small shake of her head. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Once you learn the lesson we’re trying to teach you here, we’ll let you go.” She honestly had no idea what Justin was planning on doing with Jared, but she didn’t want to get Jared worked up and scare the younger man. Her intentions here were to get Jared to relax, after all. “Just let me take care of you, Jared. You’ll see how much you like it and you won’t want Jensen anymore.”

A deep frown marred Jared’s features when Genevieve mentioned Jensen. That’s what this was about? Genevieve had agreed to follow along with Justin’s plan because she wanted him to love her and not Jensen? This was ridiculous. And again, it all went back to Jensen. Getting involved with him had been a mistake. If only Jared had realized it before it was too late. Now, he was going to die and his pack was going to be without a beta. Jensen would probably find someone new though, so Jared wasn’t too worried about it he supposed. After all, Jensen was a very attractive man and as long as he wasn’t talking to Christian and insisting that he didn’t love his mate, he was actually an all right guy. His new mate would be lucky to have him.

Still, Jared didn’t want to die. He was only seventeen; he’d barely had time to live! Genevieve apparently loved him and they were meant to be together or whatever, and she was going to let him get hurt? That didn’t sound like love at all. Before he could say anything to her about helping him out of here though, Justin and David walked into the room, that same smirk on Justin’s lips that had been there before Jared passed out. Whatever was going to happen, Jared knew it wasn’t going to be good. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d pass out again before the really bad parts came.

“Do you mind if we join in?” Justin asked, not giving Genevieve the chance to answer before he was pushing her out of the way and straddling Jared’s hips. He gazed down at the younger man as he slowly ran his hands over Jared’s body, admiring his previous handiwork. “You look really good with all of these marks on you, Jared,” he smiled, pressing his thumb against a particularly nasty burn on Jared’s chest, his smile widening when the younger wolf cried out in pain. Still, Jared’s screams were as loud as ever even if his voice was fading with each passing hour. He growled softly when Genevieve ordered him to stop, his eyes glowing a bright brown as he glared at her. “Don’t make me escort you out of here,” he warned, smirking once more when she shut up. 

Small whimpers continued to break out of Jared as Justin ran his hands over his body, sometimes pressing against his wounds roughly just to hear him scream. Slowly, he crawled off Jared’s body and popped the button open on his jeans, pulling the zipper down slowly so Jared could hear every tooth catching before it released. “What-What are you doing?” Jared whimpered, the sound throwing him into a coughing fit, forcing Jared to roll onto his side so he could spit blood out of his mouth. “Please…don’t? Just…let me go…or let me die.”

Shaking his head, Justin kneeled down onto the ground beside Jared, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to lie on his back again. “I’m not ready to let you die yet, Jared,” he answered. “I still have so many plans for you. But I’m running out of time.” Roughly, Justin forced Jared’s legs open, positioning himself in the newly made gap as he smiled evilly. “You’ll have to forgive me for not having enough time to prepare you for this.” Another wide smile came to Justin’s lips as Jared screamed at the top of his lungs and arched his back when Justin pushed his cock into him, not stopping until he was balls deep inside Jared. 

**~~**

As soon as she heard the third door in the cabin close, Danneel quietly left her room, heading down to the basement where Jared was being kept. She had a glass of water and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her hands for Jared because she knew that Justin hadn’t let him eat since he’d gotten here and the only water he was allowed to have was the small bowl of muddy water that was in the basement. A person shouldn’t have to live like that and Danneel wasn’t going to allow it anymore. But Justin had gone off the rails, so she was forced to do everything in secret. 

Earlier, she had been given the order to distract Jensen, but she just couldn’t find it in her heart to do something like that. She wanted Jared to be found. At least then he would be able to get the proper care he needed. Danneel wasn’t sure exactly how much damage had been inflicted upon the Padalecki clan beta because she hadn’t seen him since they tossed him in the basement while he was still unconscious, but she’d heard him screaming and she could smell the burned flesh and the blood. The sooner Jared was found the better, even if she wasn’t going to directly come out and find Jensen to tell him where Jared was. That would have been like suicide.

She gasped softly when she turned on the small light in the room and she could finally see what Justin had been doing to entertain himself the last twenty four hours. “Oh my God,” she whispered, quickly moving towards Jared to see if he was even still alive. From what she could tell, at least three quarters of his body was covered in burns and he was bleeding heavily from lacerations on his thighs, forearms, and forehead. Jared had obviously taken a serious beating. “Oh Jared, what has he done to you, sweetie?” she asked, her hand hovering over Jared’s arm for a moment; she was afraid that if she touched him, it would either prove that he was dead or it would hurt him. 

Suddenly, Jared’s eyes fluttered open, the young man trying to curl in on himself as he whimpered softly. “Please…” he whispered, coughing after the word left his lips. More blood dotted his lips when the coughing fit finally passed, Jared’s head rolling on the dirty floor as he tried to remain focused. “Please…I can’t – no more, please?”

Upon closer inspection, Danneel could see that Jared was in a lot worse shape than she had initially thought. His wounds looked infected and he was clearly in a lot of pain. There was cum littering Jared’s body, indicating that Justin and possibly David had raped him. Hell, Genevieve might have even joined in. Danneel just didn’t know what to think anymore. “No, shhh sweetie, I’m not going to hurt you.” Reaching for the glass of water that she’d put on the floor, Danneel brought it up to Jared’s lips. “I brought you some water. Do you think you can drink for me, Jared?”

Because his head was bent at an awkward angle, Danneel moved closer to Jared, gently taking his head in her hand and brining him to her lap. She hissed in pain when the collar on Jared’s neck burned her skin upon contact, pulling her hand away quickly. “What the hell?” she asked, moving Jared’s hair out of the way a little to reveal the silver collar around Jared’s neck. “Oh God, he didn’t!” Danneel gasped, appalled that Justin would do something like this to such a sweet and innocent kid like Jared. “Fucking asshole!” she hissed, shushing Jared as he whimpered once more. “It’s okay honey,” she whispered, gently lying Jared back down on the basement floor. “I’m gonna go get help.”

Not wasting any time, Danneel shifted into her wolf form, her auburn fur standing on edge in her anger and determination as she raced through the woods in the direction of the mansion. Her brown eyes were glowing with her displeasure as she reached the building she’d been headed towards, shifting back into her human form and grabbing some clothing she kept stashed in the woods. Once she was dressed, Danneel ran up the stairs until she reached the top floor, letting her senses lead her to Jensen. 

With how loudly she was knocking, Danneel was surprised she didn’t draw more attention to herself, but she wouldn’t have cared. She needed to get Jensen’s attention and this seemed to be the only way she could. If she called out to him, there was a ninety nine point nine percent chance he would just ignore her. Finally, the door swung open, revealing a distraught Jensen. “You have to come with me!” Danneel ordered, not giving Jensen a chance to turn her down as she grabbed his arm and yanked him out of his room.

When he was dragged out of his room, Jensen growled, roughly yanking his arm back and nearly knocking Danneel over in the process. “What the hell are you doing here, Danni?” he asked, his tone doing nothing to hide how pissed off he was that she had been the one at the door. “I told you to leave me the fuck alone! I don’t want you! It was a one-time thing and it’s never going to happen again, so get the fuck over it!”

“This isn’t about me!” Danneel shouted as she turned on Jensen, her eyes flashing bright brown in the dimly lit hallway of the mansion. “It’s about Jared. Justin has him and I don’t know how much more time he has left! He’s in bad shape, Jensen, so you need to get over yourself and come with me to rescue your mate!”


	9. Chapter Nine

Jensen had been out all day looking for Jared and he hadn’t found him. It was late and he was tired, but there was no way he could sleep when Jared wasn’t here. He was really starting to worry that something bad may have happened to his mate and even if Christian and Steve thought he was just off trying to cool down from the hurtful words that Jensen had spewed, he didn’t think that was the case. Jared had never just walked off before and stayed gone this long as far as Jensen knew. And he liked to think that he knew Jared pretty well because they spent almost every waking moment together since they mated and he’d asked around a few times about him to get a sense of what he was getting himself into.

He wanted to go back out there and look for Jared again, but Christian and Steve were tired, they were horny, and they just didn’t understand the gravity of this situation. But Jensen knew there was something wrong. Jared had been gone for twenty-four hours and Jensen could _feel_ that there was something wrong. Christian and Steve had to physically drag him back to the mansion when the sun came up again, otherwise he would have kept looking. Hell, if they hadn’t warned him that he would be no help to Jared on no sleep, he probably wouldn’t have allowed them to drag him back here so easily.

When there was a knock on the door, Jensen got his hopes up, quickly moving to the barrier between him and his new guest and yanking the door open. For a split second, he had thought that maybe Jared had come back and Christian and Steve had been right. However, when he saw Danneel at the door, it just made him angrier. Then she actually had the audacity to grab him and start dragging him out of his room and down the stairs. He was definitely not pleased with how the day’s events were playing out right now.

Hearing that Danneel knew where Jared was, Jensen saw red. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall, growling dangerously at the woman. “What the hell did you do to him?!” he demanded, knowing that if Justin was involved, Danneel had to have helped in some way. Justin was a coward, he never did anything on his own. He always had his lackeys do the dirty work and then he would take credit if it turned out the way he’d planned. He could feel his anger rising, the want to rip Danneel apart growing with each deep breath he took. But he knew that if he killed her, he wouldn’t get the information he needed, so he refrained, mentally talking down the wolf inside him.

“I didn’t do anything, Jensen! Get off me!” Danneel yelled, shoving Jensen off of her. “I’m trying to help him!” Pulling her shirt down so that her belly was covered once more, Danneel explained, “I was just the distraction. Jensen, I didn’t even know what he was planning on doing to Jared until I went down there this morning and saw how badly he’d been hurt.” She wondered if she should tell Jensen about the collar or just let him see for himself when he got there. “Jensen, he has him collared,” she whispered, biting into her bottom lip. “I don’t know much about collaring or silver poisoning, but we’ve had him now for twenty-four hours and he doesn’t look good.”

This situation had just gotten ten times worse. Not only had Jared been kidnapped by Justin, but the bastard had collared Jensen’s mate. _Jensen’s_ mate had a fucking silver collar on and Jensen was pissed. Angrily, Jensen pulled Danneel away from the wall and started dragging her down the stairs. “You’re going to take me to him,” he growled, not even caring that Danneel was all but tripping over her own feet because he was walking so quickly. He didn’t know much about silver poisoning either, but he did know that it wasn’t good. It was dangerous and he wolves couldn’t last much longer than twenty-four hours with the dosage of silver going into Jared by him being collared.

She didn’t want to go back there. If Justin saw her and found out that she had been responsible for telling Jensen where Jared was, he would kill her. “No!” Danneel argued, pulling her arm away from Jensen. “I can’t go back there, Jensen! If Justin finds out that I told you where Jared is, he’ll kill me!” Danneel may not have been the most adventurous person, and she may not have been exceptionally well when it came to making good choices, but that didn’t mean she wanted to die. “There’s a cabin about fifteen minutes into the woods. It’s huge, you can’t miss it. Jared’s in there. And be careful because he has Jake guarding the place so no one can get in.”

Although Jensen didn’t care if Danneel was ripped apart for the role she played in Jared’s kidnapping, he wasn’t going to argue with her right now. Besides, there was a chance that Danneel was trying to set him up, so it was probably best that she stayed back and let Jensen do this on his own. “Fine, stay here. Just don’t draw attention to yourself.” Turning to head into the soft morning light, Jensen added, “And Danneel, if he dies, I’ll kill you.” 

Without another word, Jensen shifted and ran into the woods, following the meager directions Danneel had given him. At least she hadn’t been lying, Jensen coming up on the cabin in about eleven minutes. Sure enough, Jake, a member of _Jared’s_ pack was guarding the cabin. Luckily for Jensen, Jake really had no idea what he was doing when he wasn’t around David, so it was easy for Jensen to get the jump on him. He didn’t have time to worry about casualties, and he didn’t really care at this point as he locked his jaw around Jake’s throat, nearly severing the smaller wolf’s head in his anger.

Once Jake was out of the way, Jensen slipped into the cabin, shifting back into his human form and pulling on the first pair of jeans he could find. They were a little tight, but he was able to move in them, which was the only thing he was worried about. Grabbing a black T-shirt, Jensen pulled it on over his torso before he shoved his feet into a pair of old sneakers. Dressed and ready to move, Jensen stalked into the kitchen, grabbing a knife that was lying on the counter. It wasn’t silver, but it would hurt like a sonuvabitch when he stabbed anyone who tried to get in his way. Dead or alive, Jared was coming with him when this was all over.

The basement – Danneel said that’s where they were keeping Jared. Slowly, Jensen moved through the kitchen and towards the first door he saw. As luck would have it, the door led to the basement. He could hear grunts and groans mixed with screams coming up the stairs as soon as the door was open and he had to remind himself to keep calm so he didn’t blow this. Jensen knew he couldn’t just go in there halfcocked if he wanted to get Jared out. He needed to play this smart, which meant keeping his anger at bay. That was definitely going to be the most challenging part of this rescue mission because Jared was screaming and Jensen wanted to rip the person responsible for hurting Jared apart.

Jogging quietly down the stairs, Jensen hid behind one wall so no one saw him before he was ready for them to. He peeked around the corner to see who he was dealing with and he nearly vomited at the sight of what they were doing to his mate. His hand tightened into a fist around the knife’s handle as Jensen tried to remain calm – wait for the opportune moment when he could get the drop on the bastards raping Jared.

**~~**

Pain was his new best friend it seemed as Justin slapped his ass roughly before slamming his cock back into him, the sickening sound of flesh hitting against flesh filling the room and threatening to consume Jared. He was on his hands and knees and it hurt like hell because Jared could barely hold himself up. Then again, Justin and David were doing a pretty good job of keeping him in position as Justin fucked him from behind and David slammed his dick so far into Jared’s mouth that he was practically shoving it down his throat with each thrust. If he could have, Jared would have bitten David’s cock off, but he was just too weak. His body was already shutting down and Justin had explained to him that he had less than twelve hours before the silver poisoned him so badly that he wouldn’t be able to recover, ultimately leading to his death. Those twelve hours couldn’t come fast enough as far as Jared was concerned.

His knees and his palms were getting skinned up because of the rough treatment he was being given, but Jared couldn’t find it in himself to really care about that too much. It was definitely the last thing on his mind as David fisted his hair and pulled his head closer to his body, burying Jared’s face in the wiry curls just above his dick before he shuddered and came into Jared’s mouth, making sure to hold Jared in place until the young beta swallowed everything he could, the rest dribbling down Jared’s chin along with a little bit of spittle as Jared coughed and gasped for breath once he was able to.

As David was tucking himself back into his pants, Jensen made his move. Justin was still too occupied pounding into Jared to notice that Jensen was behind him, and David was too focused on getting his dick back in his pants to realize that anything was happening. Jensen thrust the knife into Justin’s back as soon as he was close enough, smiling with victory when the man screamed in pain, his back arching as he tried to grasp for the knife and pull it out. Luckily, Jensen had the upper hand here and he’d managed to slam the knife right in the center of Justin’s back where the other man couldn’t easily get his hands on the handle and pull it out.

When Justin screamed in pain, David’s attention snapped up to the other man, his eyes widening when he saw Jensen. He was on his feet in no time, racing up the stairs and out of the cabin. David liked his life, as pathetic as it may seem sometimes, and there was no way he was going to stay here and let Jensen kill him. As the pack alpha, Jensen was stronger than him and unless David could get the upper hand for sure, he didn’t want to stay and take a chance of losing his life. Seeing Jake lying dead on the ground only added to that desperate attempt at escape, David quickly shifting and running off deeper into the woods where no one would find him easily.

Jensen had half a mind to follow David, but he knew that Jared was more important than that piece of shit right now. Quickly, he dropped to his knees beside his mate, his hands cupping Jared’s face, forcing the younger man to look at him. “Jared, baby, can you hear me?” he whispered, shushing Jared when he whimpered and tried to push Jensen away. “No, baby, it’s me, it’s Jensen. I’m not going to hurt you.” Licking his lips, Jensen studied the collar on Jared’s neck, knowing that he couldn’t get it off without hurting himself in the process. “I’m gonna get you out of here, Jay, all right? Just stay with me, baby.”

All of his attention was focused on Jared, which was why Jensen didn’t see Justin recovering after having finally pulled the blade from his back. He roared in pain when the knife was shoved into his side, his hands grasping at Justin’s arm that was holding him against Justin’s body as the knife was pulled from his body and shoved back into a different location on his side. Angrily, he pulled his attention from Jared for a moment and dug his short, blunt fingernails into Justin’s arm, shoving the man away from him once he’d turned in his grasp, the knife clattering to the floor beside Jensen’s body. He was already healing so his movements weren’t even slowed by the attack, Jensen kicking Justin square in the chest when he tried to get the upper hand again. 

It was becoming very obvious that he wasn’t getting Jared out of here until Justin was either dead or severely incapacitated. Getting the collar off Jared was going to take some time and Jensen needed to get Justin away from him long enough for that to happen. The next time Justin came at him, Jensen grabbed his shirt and swung the smaller man into the hallway, smiling slightly when he heard something in Justin’s body break by the force of which he’d made contact on the cement stair. Quickly, Jensen slammed the door closed, locking it before shoving two heavy metal crates in front of it. At least that would hold Justin off for a few minutes.

With Justin out of the way for the time being, Jensen quickly skidded to his knees in front of Jared again, taking a few more precious moments to study the collar. There wasn’t a latch, a buckle, or a keyhole anywhere on it, so Jensen had no idea how he was supposed to get it off. He was wasting time that he didn’t have and he knew it. Justin was already beating on the door and the wood was starting to crack; Jensen didn’t have time to play around here. As far as he could tell, there was one thing he could do here and one thing only – he had to break the thing off, which meant using his hands. It was going to hurt like a sonuvabitch, but he had to do it.

Just as he was about to grab onto the collar and pull it off, he noticed the tiniest latch just under Jared’s chin. Sighing in relief, Jensen quickly unhooked the thing, hissing in pain when the silver burned his flesh. He tossed the collar aside once it was off, his fingers gently brushing against Jared’s abused flesh, frowning softly when Jared hissed in pain. “Shh…it’s okay, baby. It’s off,” he whispered softly, his lips brushing against Jared’s for a moment. He went to work on getting Jared out of the shackles next, glad that Justin hadn’t locked them with padlocks like they were supposed to have been locked. Apparently Justin had done some research on silver poisoning and he knew Jared wouldn’t have been able to escape.

Before he could move Jared somewhere safe, the door finally gave way and a dark black wolf came barreling into the room, his brown eyes glowing with his anger. Jensen barely managed to grab the knife before he was tackled to the ground, the wolf snarling and biting at him. He growled in pain when Justin’s teeth locked onto his shoulder, slamming the knife into the wolf’s neck and shoving him off of his body, rolling onto his side before he quickly pushed to his feet again, the bloody knife still in his hand as he waited for Justin’s next attack.

This time, Jensen was ready for it when Justin jumped for him, slamming the blade into Justin’s chest, smiling triumphantly when the wolf whined in pain and fell back. He watched as Justin slowly morphed into a man again, knowing that with the knife sticking in his chest, just below the heart, Justin wasn’t going to be much of a threat to him while he moved Jared towards the door. Jared winced and whimpered a little as Jensen moved him, but other than that, he didn’t do much of anything else. With the collar off, Jensen knew that Jared wasn’t getting anymore poison into his system, but he didn’t like how lethargic Jared was. Still, he knew he couldn’t leave without dealing with Justin properly. He’d try to hurt Jared again if Jensen let him live.

By now, Justin had the knife out of his chest and his body was slowly healing, but Jensen wasn’t going to give him the chance. Grabbing the other man by his hair, Jensen dragged him into the center of the room where Jared had been moments before, tossing him down onto the dirty floor with enough force that Justin’s head bounced off the floor with a sickening crack. Once Jensen had Justin where he wanted him, he grabbed the silver collar, hissing in pain as it burned his flesh before locking it around Justin’s neck. Instantly, Justin went limp, the silver already taking effect and poisoning his body, leaving him easy to work with as Jensen locked the shackles around his wrists and ankles. “How does it feel, dick?” Jensen asked, kicking Justin in the ribcage before he walked back to Jared.

“C’mon baby,” he whispered softly in Jared’s ear as he helped his mate to his feet. “Can you walk?” he asked, moving away from Jared a little to see if he could stand on his own. Almost as soon as Jensen released him, Jared’s body crumbled, forcing Jensen to catch him before he hit the ground and caused even more damage to his body. “Whoa hey,” he whispered, shushing Jared once more when he whimpered. “All right, I’m gonna get you out of here, baby.” Without wasting another minute, Jensen wrapped one arm around Jared’s back and the other behind Jared’s knees and lifted Jared into his arms, carrying him up the stairs and out of the cabin. His shoulder was screaming in pain as it healed, but Jensen didn’t pay much attention to it, focused on Jared and getting him back to the mansion where he could get the proper care he needed.

**~~**

A small frown came to Danneel’s lips when she saw Genevieve walk into the mansion. She had to give Genevieve credit though because the woman had some nerve showing up here after her part in Jared’s kidnapping and torture. Maybe Genevieve just figured that no one would ever find out that she had helped get Jared taken and she was coming back to her pack because this is what she knew and she felt safe here. When Jared spilled his guts, Genevieve was going to be in for a world of hurt, Danneel was sure.

Slowly, she sauntered towards Genevieve, wanting to get some information out of her and try to figure out how much she knew about Jared’s attack. “What are you doing back here?” she asked, her face close to Genevieve’s so she could whisper in her ear. There was no use drawing attention to themselves, after all. If Genevieve wanted to keep the fact that she’d helped Justin kidnap Jared secret that was her business. Danneel would keep her mouth shut unless she was being persecuted and she thought throwing Genevieve under the bus would save her own ass.

Genevieve jumped slightly when Danneel whispered in her ear, quickly turning to face the other woman. “What-What are you doing here?” she countered, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion. If Danneel was here, that had to mean something right? Like she had come here to rat them all out about their plan to kidnap Jared? Needless to say, Genevieve didn’t trust Danneel. “This is my pack. I belong here. You don’t.”

Again, Danneel had to admit that she was impressed with Genevieve. Even under pressure, she was still acting as if she did nothing wrong. “I came here to see Jensen,” Danneel answered with a small shrug. “But he’s not here, so I’m waiting for him. I mean, if I go back to the cabin and tell Justin that I couldn’t distract Jensen because he wasn’t here, Justin probably isn’t going to be too happy.” Maybe if she tried to act like she was still on Genevieve’s side, she could use it as leverage. If she made Genevieve trust her, then the other woman would never see the betrayal coming if it had to come down to that.

Her plan seemed to work, Genevieve visibly relaxing as she gave her head a small shake. “I don’t think Justin’s going to be doing much of anything for a while,” she assured Danneel sadly. “Jensen found the cabin somehow and he came for Jared. I got out before he could see me, but he walked in on David and Justin torturing Jared. I’ll be surprised if Justin makes it out alive.” Genevieve actually felt kind of bad for them, but she hadn’t been prepared to show herself and help them out of the mess they’d gotten themselves into. She’d seen David bolt out of there like he had hunters on his tail, but Justin had stayed back and fought. In her opinion, there was no hope for him.

When Genevieve told her the story of what happened, she tried to act surprised, not wanting Genevieve to know that she had been Jensen’s informant. “Oh…wow, that’s awful,” she mumbled with a small shake of her head. “Justin should have just left and thought of another way to get back at Jensen.” She would have been lying if she said it didn’t hurt that Justin was probably dead by now, but she knew that he deserved it. Jensen wasn’t going to let him get a free pass for what he’d done to Jared because it was obvious that Jensen cared for Jared very much. It made her jealous and angry that Jared got what she wanted so desperately, but she was happy for the young beta all the same.

Before they could finish their conversation, Jensen burst through the woods, carrying Jared in his arms. “Jim!” he called out, pushing his way past the rest of the pack as they tried to get close to him because they were worried about Jared. “Get the fuck out of my way!” he growled as he pushed his way into the hospital, kicking the door closed behind him and slamming the lock in place so no one could follow him in here. “Jim, I need help!” he called again, following after the older wolf as he led him into one of the rooms. Jensen gently placed Jared on the bed, fingers running through Jared’s hair as he tried to get his mate to focus on him.

“What in God’s name happened, boy?” Jim asked, grabbing some supplies he would need to take care of Jared’s injuries first and foremost. Jared’s body wasn’t healing, which led Jim to believe he may have gotten silver in his bloodstream, so he quickly hooked Jared up to an IV so he could get fluids pumping into the younger man’s body to flush out the harmful poison. It was like when Jared had been seven all over again and Jim was worried that Jared wouldn’t be able to pull himself out of this situation again. The first time had been a miracle and as far as he knew, miracles only happened once in a lifetime.

Shaking his head, Jensen answered, “I don’t-I don’t know exactly. Jared disappeared yesterday and Christian, Steve, and I looked everywhere for him, but we couldn’t find him. They thought that he was just cooling off because I’d said something hurtful and he’d overheard it, but I wasn’t sure. And then Danneel came to me this morning and told me that Justin had Jared and I ran over there to get him. He was collared, Jim!” Jensen didn’t want to get into too much detail, not sure how much Jared would want everyone to know. It wasn’t his place to tell the story, so he stuck to the basics of what Jim would need to know to help Jared.

He took everything Jensen was saying into consideration as he packed some of the deeper wounds on Jared’s body, stopping the bleeding so Jared didn’t bleed out on his table. Jared was filthy and Jim needed to get him cleaned up and prepped for surgery. There was no doubt in his mind that Jared was suffering from internal bleeding and he needed to take a look at Jared’s heart to analyze the damage that had been done to it because of the silver. “How long did they have him in the collar, Jensen?” he asked, trying to get all of the information he could out of the alpha before he had to force him to leave so he could work on Jared.

This was all happening too fast. Jared could be dying on the table in front of him and the last memory Jared had of Jensen was his outburst while he’d been talking to Christian. A lie – _that_ was the last thing Jared would remember about Jensen. No, he couldn’t die. Jared was only seventeen, dammit! “Um…twe-twenty four hours,” he whispered, shaking his head as he moved towards the wall and slammed his fist against it, not even caring when his hand came away bloody and bruised. He’d heal soon enough. “Dammit Jim, is he gonna be okay?”

The answer he wanted to give Jensen wasn’t necessarily true for sure, and Jim wasn’t going to lie. “I don’t know, son,” he whispered softly, giving his head a small shake. “I need to get him to surgery. Go wait in the lobby. And open my doors; they never get locked. Talk to the pack and let them know that Jared’s in surgery. Just tell them that he’s going to be fine. And make it sound true, Jensen.” With that, Jim pulled the bed away from the wall and started wheeling Jared away to the closest operating room. He needed to get things moving if he wanted to save Jared’s life.

**~~**

While he waited for Jared to get out of surgery, Jensen did as Jim had told him to. The pack had a right to know that Jared was going to be fine, and he knew they were all worried. Their reactions had been expected – crying, Misha and Tom shouting at him that he was to blame for this, Christian and Steve apologizing for not trying harder to find him – hell, Sophia had even slapped him. And she had every right to slap him because it was Jensen’s fault Jared had been hurt. That made this situation so much worse because not only was it Jensen’s fault that Jared had run off and gotten in his current position, but Justin had attacked him because he wanted to get back at Jensen. Either way you looked at this, Jensen was to blame.

Now, Jensen was sitting in the hospital lobby waiting for news on Jared. “You should drink something,” Steve suggested, holding a bottle of water out for him to take. Jensen didn’t. “Jensen, come on, you need to keep yourself healthy for when Jared wakes up.” He wasn’t an idiot – Jensen had explained the situation to him and he knew there was a chance Jared wasn’t going to wake up, but he wasn’t going to entertain that idea right now. Jared had been in surgery for about three hours already and in his opinion, a long surgery was good news. It meant that there was a chance of saving the patient.

Tears formed behind Jensen’s eyes as he looked at the water, still not taking it. “What if he doesn’t?” Jensen asked softly. “This is all my fault.” He shrugged Steve’s hand off his shoulder when the other man tried to comfort him, quickly getting out of his chair so Steve couldn’t try it again. Jensen didn’t want Steve’s pity, and he didn’t want the other man to comfort him either. He deserved to feel this guilt and the anguish because until Jared was safe in their bed again, Jensen wasn’t going to cut himself a break.

Steve wasn’t going to sit around and let Jensen beat himself up for this. “This wasn’t your fault, Jensen!” he assured his friend. “You did something stupid, yeah. But you didn’t collar Jared, and you didn’t beat him so badly that he needed surgery. Justin did this to Jared, you didn’t! Don’t beat yourself up for something that you had no control over! I’m not going to let you!”

Angrily, Jensen turned his attention back to Steve. “Justin did this because of me!” Jensen yelled, slapping his hand over his chest to emphasize his words. “He kidnapped Jared, he beat Jared, and he collared Jared because of me! Because I fucked Danneel one night a year ago and broke them up when I knew that he was going to ask her to be his mate! I was thinking with my dick _a year ago_ and Jared’s paying for it now!” Growling in anger, Jensen yelled, “So go ahead, Steve! Tell me this isn’t my fault! Tell me –”

“Jensen,” Jim interrupted, smiling softly when the alpha turned his attention to him. “Jared’s out of surgery. Now, he’s still a little out of it and he’s on morphine, but it looks like he’s going to pull through.” Pocketing the pen he had been holding, Jim continued, “I want to keep him here until he’s stronger, but you can go see him if you want to. I’m sure he’d like that.”

As soon as Jensen was told he could go see Jared, he was on the move, his legs carrying him in the direction Jim had pointed a moment ago. Jared had wires and tubes all over him and he was hooked up to various machines that were monitoring his vitals, but at least he was alive. That was all that mattered to Jensen. Quickly, Jensen moved closer to the bed, taking a seat in the chair placed to the side as one hand closed around Jared’s and his other hand brushed Jared’s hair out of his face. “Baby, can you hear me?” he whispered softly, his thumb running along the back of Jared’s knuckles.

When Jensen touched him, Jared moaned softly, his head turning towards Jensen as his eyes slowly fluttered open. A small smile came to his lips when he saw Jensen smiling at him, almost as if his mate’s smile was infectious. “Hey,” he rasped softly, his throat still sore from having the collar on for so long. It felt good to finally be free of it and not have to feel that liquid heat burning through his veins each time his heart beat. He remembered it a little from when he’d been attacked as a pup, but for the most part, he’d blocked it out. Now, he remembered it all – the pain, the fear, the knowledge that he was going to die if someone didn’t find him. “You came for me,” Jared smiled, moving his hand so that he was holding onto Jensen’s, lacing their fingers together.

A small chuckle escaped Jensen when Jared told him that he came for him, the older man nodding. “Of course I came for you,” he whispered, smiling wider as he carded his fingers through Jared’s hair. “How are you feeling, baby?” he asked, wanting to make sure that Jim hadn’t been mistaken when he told him that Jared was fine. The morphine was probably taking some of the pain away, but he had a feeling it wasn’t taking all of it away. After all, there were a lot of burns on Jared’s body still and his neck still had the red, angry rash on it from the collar. It was probably going to take a while for Jared to get back to one hundred percent, but Jensen was going to be here every step the way.

His movements were still slow as he nodded, letting Jensen know he was all right. “M’okay,” he whispered, the hand holding Jensen’s tightening a little bit. “How long was I gone?” He didn’t remember much about what had happened, but he remembered the collar, and he remembered the matches, and the beatings. Most of all, he remembered that he had been raped – multiple times, and he just hoped Jensen hadn’t seen it happening when he got there to rescue him because Jared was pretty sure that’s the last thing he remembered happening. Hopefully, Justin had been throwing matches at him again or something when Jensen had gotten there.

Giving Jared’s hand a gentle squeeze, Jensen explained, “You were gone for twenty four hours, baby. Christian, Steve, and I spent all day looking for you, but we couldn’t find you.” Licking his lips, Jensen whispered, “Danneel told me where I could find you. When I got there…God, the things they must have done to you. I’m _so_ sorry I didn’t get to you sooner, Jay.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to Jared’s softly, not wanting to spook the younger man by making him think he was trying to get more from him. “It’s okay now though because I have you back, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Although Jared was pretty sure Jensen had seen what they had been doing to him because of what Jensen had just said, he wasn’t going to bring it up. Jared just wanted to forget about it. “What-What happened to them?” Jared whispered, tear-filled hazel eyes ticking up to meet Jensen’s moss greens. “Are they going to come back for me, do you think?” He knew there was no way he could fight them off in his current condition, and he was so scared they were going to get him back and pick up where they had left off.

Quickly, Jensen shook his head, letting his hand smooth across Jared’s forehead before he combed his fingers through Jared’s hair again. “No baby, they’re not going to come back for you. I took care of Jake and Justin, and David ran off into the woods. He’s not stupid enough to come back here.” He smiled softly when Jared nodded, the younger man visibly relaxing at Jensen’s words. “And even if he is, there’s no way I’m letting him get to you. I’m going to have someone in here with you at all times, all right?”

Again, Jared nodded, letting Jensen know that he understood that he would protect him at all costs. “What about Genevieve?” Jared asked, realizing belatedly that Jensen hadn’t mentioned her when he was explaining that he’d taken care of the others. “Did she run off with David?” She was probably the scariest of them all because she actually thought Jared loved her. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to leave him alone if she got another chance to attack him. Justin had at least let Jared know that he was doing this out of hatred, but Genevieve had raped Jared while telling him that she loved him and she was going to make sure Jensen couldn’t hurt him. She was definitely the one to worry about as far as Jared was concerned.

At the mention of Genevieve, Jensen frowned, giving his head a small shake. “She’s in the mansion, Jay,” he explained to him. “She was really worried about your safety when I told them you were in surgery. She made me promise that when you woke up I’d go find her so she could come see you.” Frowning, Jensen asked, “Did-Did you want me to go get her?” Jensen had kind of hoped that Jared would just want to be with him for a while, but if he wanted to see other members of his pack, Jensen wasn’t going to argue with him. He’d let Jared see whoever he wanted to see.

Jared felt his body start to shake with fear when Jensen told him that Genevieve was in the mansion, the young beta quickly shaking his head. “N-No!” he answered, his free hand moving to fist in Jensen’s shirt so he couldn’t leave him, Jared ignoring the pain that shot through his hand when the IV pulled at his skin. “No, please Jen, don’t leave me. I don’t want her anywhere near me, please?” He could feel tears start to slide down his cheeks as he continued to beg Jensen not to let Genevieve come here to see him.

If Jensen didn’t know any better, he would have thought that Jared was afraid of Genevieve. But that was ridiculous because she was just another beta wolf and Jared had about a foot on her; he could definitely take her down if she tried anything. “Hey, shhh,” he calmed as his hand ran up and down Jared’s back, frowning deeply when Jared pressed his face into his neck and he felt his T-shirt getting damp with tears. “I won’t let her come here, I promise. What’s wrong, baby? Why don’t you want to see her?” Slowly, Jensen pulled back a little, searching Jared’s face for answers.

Suddenly, it hit him. Jared didn’t want Genevieve around because she had been part of Justin’s pack. “Sonuvabitch,” he growled, cupping Jared’s cheek and brushing his tears away with the pad of his thumb. “Jared, did she hurt you?” He could tell that Jared was reluctant to answer, but he wasn’t going to let Jared off the hook that easily. “Jared, tell me! Was she part of Justin’s pack?!”

There was no way to lie to Jensen while he was so out of it, Jared knew that. So he nodded, fresh tears making tracks down his cheeks. “She made me – God, Jensen, I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to, I swear!” Shaking his head, he continued, his words almost inaudible because he was sobbing, “I told her to stop, but she wouldn’t! She just kept telling me that she loved me and she knew that I loved her too, but I just didn’t want to admit it! But I don’t, Jen! I don’t love her, not at all! I love you – _only_ you!”

Anger was causing his blood to boil as he listened to Jared sob and insist that he didn’t love Genevieve. Quickly, he pulled Jared against his body again, making sure to be careful with him because he wasn’t sure how much pain Jared was still in. “I know baby, shhh,” Jensen shushed softly, pressing his lips to Jared’s temple as Jared wrapped his arms around his neck. “Don’t cry, please?” he begged, holding Jared just a little tighter. “I’m gonna make sure she pays for this. Right now, I’m gonna go make sure she pays for what she did to you. Jim needs to come check you out anyway, all right?” He could tell that Jared’s nod was reluctant, but Jared wasn’t going to argue with the doctor’s orders. Leaning in, he brushed his lips against Jared’s softly. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

With that, Jensen strode out of the room, his eyes glowing a bright green as he thought of what he could do to Genevieve as punishment. There were so many possibilities and Jensen was feeling very charitable – he may just do all of the punishments he had in mind. “Go watch Jared,” he ordered Jim, not even stopping to make sure the order was followed. “I’ll be back soon.” Jensen nearly knocked the doors off their hinges as he exited the hospital.

Instantly, Steve could tell that something was on Jensen’s mind. He quickly followed after his friend, calling out to him and begging him to stop and talk to him, but it was like Jensen couldn’t hear him. “Hey, Jen, stop!” he pleaded, finally catching up to Jensen and grabbing his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. “What are you doing? What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to kill that bitch!” Jensen growled, moving to turn and walk towards the mansion again only to be stopped once more by Steve. Angrily, he pushed Steve away from him. “Don’t try to stop me, Steve!” he ordered. “Genevieve _raped_ Jared! She has to die!” This time when Jensen started walking towards the mansion, Steve didn’t try to stop him.


	10. Chapter Ten

Genevieve gasped softly when Jensen grabbed her and shoved her into the wall, growling viciously at her. His hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing her windpipe as Jensen smiled at her pain. Having Genevieve clawing at his wrist and his hand to break free was definitely something Jensen could get used to. “You have some nerve coming back here after what you did!” he growled softly at her, shoving Misha away from him when the other man tried to rescue Genevieve. He wasn’t going to kill her – as much as he wanted to. She was going to go on trial and he was going to suggest that she be branded Omega and hunted down like the animal she had acted like when she attacked Jared.

“Jensen, let her go!” Jeffrey ordered, pushing his way through the mob of wolves surrounding Jensen and Genevieve. Shoving Jensen away from the woman and standing between the two of them, Jeffrey glared at Jensen. “What are you doing, boy?!” he demanded, allowing Mike and Tom to help Genevieve get her breath back by leading her to one of the benches. He had to grab Jensen and make him stay where he was as he tried to attack Genevieve again. “Leave her alone, dammit!”

Roughly, Jensen pushed Jeffrey away from him, growling at the older wolf. “She raped Jared!” Jensen explained angrily, turning towards Genevieve once more. “And I want to rip her fucking head off! But I won’t. I’ll let someone else do it once you’re branded Omega, you bitch!” He growled softly once more when Mike and Tom tightened their grips on Genevieve and waited for their alpha to make the order. “Get her out of my sight,” he demanded. “She’ll stay in the basement until I’m ready to put her on trial. And I want her in the silver-plated collars so she can’t shift.”

When Jeffrey tried to protest, Jensen rounded on him again. “It’s a lot better than what she gave Jared. The silver-plated collars won’t poison her, unfortunately. But they will make her weak, and we can’t have her shifting and running away.” Turning back towards Genevieve, Jensen gripped her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes. “If you know where David went, this would be a good time to speak up. If you squeal, I might consider killing you quickly.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she tried to shake her head, but it was nearly impossible with Jensen holding her face the way he was. “I don’t know where he is,” Genevieve promised. “The only thing I know is that his family owned that cabin we were in, but I have no idea where he would be hiding, I swear.” Being killed quickly was so much better than being branded Omega. As an Omega wolf, she would potentially be raped and tortured before she was killed, and Genevieve knew she couldn’t handle that.

Although it wasn’t the answer he’d been looking for, Jensen could tell that Genevieve was telling the truth. After all, no one wants to be branded Omega and Genevieve especially wouldn’t make it once her fate was sealed. Jensen’s mother had been a very strong wolf and she hadn’t even made it. “I believe you,” he assured the woman, releasing her cheeks. “Take her downstairs and get the collar on her.”

As Jensen turned to walk away, Genevieve fought against Mike and Tom. “But you said you’d kill me quickly if I told you what I know!” she argued, trying desperately to get away. With her only options being death or getting branded Omega, if she could escape, then she could run away like David had. Coming back here had been a mistake on her part, but she had kind of been hoping that Jared would realize they were perfect for each other by now. Instead, she had just signed her death warrant. “I told you everything I know!”

Again, Jensen turned towards Genevieve, his eyes flashing bright green. “I lied!” he admitted, his voice holding no remorse. “Get her out of here.” He smiled softly as he heard Genevieve screaming at him that she’d told him everything and that she was going to kill him. Her shouts quickly turned to sobs as Jensen jogged off in the direction of the hospital, wanting to get back to Jared before the younger man thought he’d abandoned him, or something. After all, Jensen hadn’t missed it when Jared told him he loved him, and it was about time he told Jared how he felt as well.

**~~**

A small frown came to Jared’s lips as he watched Jim checking his vitals and making sure that all of the machines were working before jotting notes down on his clipboard. Jared hated the clipboard because right now, it was his enemy. The clipboard was going to be the judge as to whether or not he was getting out of here, and Jared hated it. Sure, he knew that he had been through something traumatic, but he could feel the silver leaving his system already and once that happened, he could heal himself with no problem. 

Still, Jim wouldn’t let him out of here until he was one hundred percent sure that Jared was well, and everything he wrote on that clipboard was going to determine that diagnosis. Luckily, right now he had something to take his mind off the clipboard for the time being. He’d wanted to get Jim alone since he woke up and now was his chance. “Jim,” he mumbled, chewing on his bottom lip once more as the older man turned his attention towards him. “Is…my baby okay?” Before Jim even answered, Jared knew he’d lost the baby, giving his head a small nod as he held back his tears.

Giving Jared’s shoulder a small squeeze, Jim whispered, “I’m so sorry, son.” Slowly, he placed his clipboard on the bedside table and took a seat beside Jared on the bed. “With the silver poisoning your bloodstream, the baby couldn’t get the necessary nutrients that he needed to survive. That coupled with the beating you took was too much for him.” Jim knew that Jared had wanted a baby since he found out that he was beta, though he’d only shared the information with Jim and his sister because he knew how his father was. When Jim found out that Jared was pregnant, the kid had been scared, but Jim could also see how happy Jared had been. Now, that happiness was gone and it made Jim wish he had been the one to collar the prick who hurt Jared.

The tears started spilling down Jared’s cheeks before he could stop them, the young man sniffling softly as Jim rubbed his arm. He hadn’t even told Jensen that he was pregnant and now their baby was gone. Wiping the tears off his cheeks, Jared sniffled once more, his head leaning back against one of the pillows that were propped up so he could sit more comfortably. “I-I want to see Jensen,” he whispered, swallowing thickly. “Please Jim, I just wanna see Jensen.”

Before Jim even had a chance to get off the bed, Jensen was in the room, a small frown coming to his lips when he noticed that Jared was crying. Quickly, he took Jim’s place on the bed beside Jared, cupping his mate’s cheek as his thumb brushed away Jared’s tears. “Hey, what’s wrong, baby?” he whispered softly, giving his head a small shake as he waited for Jared’s answer. Unfortunately, Jared was too worked up to really say much, so Jensen wasn’t getting anywhere right now.

Sobs continued to wrack Jared’s frame as he reached for Jensen, clinging to his mate and burying his face in Jensen’s neck when the older male took the hint and held him. Just having Jensen here was really helping Jared calm down. He needed to tell Jensen that he’d been pregnant before all of this happened and that he’d lost the baby. It was hard though – too hard – so it would just have to wait. Right now, Jared just wanted to take comfort in being back in the arms of his alpha.

Jensen slowly ran his fingers through Jared’s hair in an attempt to calm the younger man down. Once Jared was calm, Jensen could get to the bottom of why he had been crying when Jensen got here. He had a feeling that it was because of what happened to him, but he wasn’t one hundred percent positive. What he was sure of was that he wanted to help Jared, and in order to do that, he needed to know what was wrong. Jensen really hated not knowing what to do to help Jared it was taking a toll on him.

After a few minutes, Jared finally stopped crying and he seemed to be pretty calm, which Jensen took as his cue to strike up a conversation. However, just as he opened his mouth to speak, Jared started talking instead. “Jen, there’s-there’s something that I have to tell you,” Jared explained softly, biting into his bottom lip as he thought of just the right words he was going to use in order to get his new delivered without making Jensen too angry. The last time he’d told Jensen something, the other man had all but bolted out of here. Jared didn’t want to lose their contact just yet, so he had to choose his words wisely.

However, before Jared could tell Jensen what he wanted to say, Jensen interrupted him. “I want to tell you something too, Jay,” he whispered, pulling back just a little bit so he could look into Jared’s eyes. Jared tried to interrupt Jensen again, but Jensen pressed his index finger to Jared’s lips as he gave his head a small shake. “Let me go first,” he pleaded, returning Jared’s nod when the younger man agreed. “When you walked into the mansion that day and heard me talking to Chris, it was a lie, Jared. I only told him that I didn’t love you to get him off my back, but it wasn’t true. I love you, Jay. And I should have just admitted it earlier, but…I was…scared.”

When Jensen admitted that he loved him, Jared felt his heart flutter. “You love me?” Jared whispered softly, his face splitting into a smile when Jensen nodded. He leaned further into Jensen then, one hand fisting in the front of Jensen’s T-shirt while the other rested against Jensen’s shoulder as Jared kissed his alpha. “I love you too,” he smiled once he’d pulled back, now not as frightened to tell Jensen about the baby as he had been before. If Jensen really did love him, there was nothing for him to be worried about. “But I have to tell you something, and it’s probably going to make you mad.” Again, he bit into his lip as he swallowed once more, gathering his courage. “When I came to the mansion that morning while you were with Chris, I had some news for you. I was pregnant, Jen.”

Jensen gave his head a small shake when Jared told him that he had been pregnant, clearly confused by the news. “What…how, we never had sex without using protection first?” he mumbled, his heart clenching when the thought that Jared had been unfaithful flitted through his head. But that was impossible; Jared would never break one of the largest rules in the wolf law book, would he? Jensen just wasn’t sure. Suddenly, it hit him that Jared had used the past tense when he explained the news, another frown coming to Jensen’s lips. “What do you mean was?” he asked softly. “You aren’t pregnant now?”

Slowly, Jared shook his head, sniffling again as the tears came back to his eyes. “There was that time against the tree, remember?” he explained. “We had both been so eager to just get at each other that we completely forgot to use a condom. And when I came to see Jim a few weeks later and he told me that I was pregnant. I was coming to tell you when I walked in on you and Christian talking.” Another sniffle escaped him as he shook his head again, biting into his bottom lip before meeting Jensen’s eyes. “When they attacked me, I lost the baby,” he whispered, his body shaking with the sobs he was trying to hold back. “Jim…said that the silver running through my veins prevented him from getting the nutrients he needed and he just couldn’t take it. That, and the way they beat me was just too much for our baby.”

As Jared sobbed, Jensen pulled him against his chest in an attempt to offer his lover comfort, knowing how hard this must be for Jared. It was hard on him and he hadn’t been the one to go through the ordeal Jared had to go through. “Shh…” he whispered soothingly, fingers carding through Jared’s hair. “It’s okay baby, they’re going to get what they deserve. I’ll have a team go out and search for David and drag his ass back here so he can go on trial with Genevieve. They’ll be branded Omega and they can both go through Hell before they actually go to rot there.” He allowed Jared to hold onto his tighter as he continued to cry, whispering soothing words in his lover’s ear as his hand continued to card through Jared’s hair, his other hand running up and down Jared’s back to help calm him down.

**~~**

Over the next few weeks, things were rough on Jared. He was having nightmares almost every night and he was remembering everything they’d done to him while he was being held captive. The silver poisoning had actually helped to block most of the things out, but now it was all rushing back and it was overwhelming. Jared would scream out at night and sometimes Jim would ever have to sedate him so he wouldn’t hurt himself or Jensen. Plus, the sedatives helped Jared get sleep, which was good for his healing process.

On the bright side, Jim was pleased with how well Jared’s body was healing after everything. The silver was out of his system completely and he was able to heal his body rapidly because the wolf inside him was able to use all of its abilities again now. Jim was sure that Jared could go home in a few days, which would be good for him in the long run. Familiarity would help him adjust to everything that had happened and it would also help Jared realize that he was safe again. Being in the hospital brought back bad memories according to Jared, so Jim was going to see if he could release him into Jensen’s care. After all, Jim was just a few doors down if anything happened, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t keep an eye on him if it was necessary.

Today was that day. Jared was so excited that he couldn’t help the fact that his leg was bouncing as he waited for Jensen to fill out his discharge papers and take him home. Jim had mentioned that once he was home, the nightmares might stop, and Jared was eager to see if he had been right. The nightmares were probably the worst part of this whole experience and Jared knew he would feel so much better when they were all over. He knew that they sometimes made him violent and he’d actually gotten Jensen with a left hook the other night, so he wanted them to stop as soon as possible. Something told him that Jensen would be happy when they stopped as well, so that was also a plus.

Things had been going really well between them, even if Jared sometimes beat Jensen up unintentionally, and he wanted it to stay that way. They’d admitted their feelings for each other and Jared liked to think that they were both happy about it. And the changes that had been made weren’t just limited to his and Jensen’s relationship; the pack was starting to accept Jensen more now, which was great. Jensen was a natural leader, and although it had taken him a while to realize it, he knew now. Jared had made sure to set everyone straight about the issue of whether or not Jensen was abusing him, letting them all know that they just loved each other so much it was hard to control their emotions when the full moon emerged in the sky, assuring the mated couples they knew exactly what he meant. He’d actually made his sister blush at that comment, which was hilarious in itself.

The trial had taken place a few days ago and both David, who had been found lying on the road with a slowly healing broken leg after being hit by a car, and Genevieve had been branded Omega and hunted down by the rest of the Padalecki clan. Jensen had stayed back with Jared, allowing the rest of the pack to tear the traitors apart, literally. He’d then informed Jeffrey that Justin was locked in the basement of the old Boreanaz cabin about fifteen minutes into the woods with a silver collar locked around his neck so they could go retrieve his body. Justin had been left there for three weeks and the silver collar had poisoned him to the point where he was almost beyond recognition. Jared couldn’t find it in himself to feel sorry for the other wolf, and he’d actually thanked Jensen for how he handed his captor.

There had just been one person left to deal with – Danneel. Because she had been the one to give Jensen the tip on where to find Jared, Jensen had sentenced her to twenty years in prison, forced to wear a silver-plated collar so she couldn’t shift. Twenty years wasn’t much for a werewolf since werewolves could live an eternity if they were careful, but Jensen thought it would give her time to think about her actions and hopefully stray from making the same decisions in the future. He had actually talked to Jared about letting her join the pack when her sentence was up, and Jared thought it was a pretty good idea. She’d never had a pack and it would be good for her. Hell, maybe she’d find someone single to stalk and Jared wouldn’t have to worry about her bothering Jensen.

But right now, Jensen wasn’t thinking about Danneel, or anyone else as he headed into his mate’s room with a wide smile on his lips. “Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked happily, chuckling softly when Jared all but threw himself into his arms and crushed his lips against Jensen’s. “Mmm…I’ll take that as a yes,” Jensen mumbled softly against Jared’s lips before he gave Jared another small kiss and pulled away from him. “All right, Jim said you should be good to go back to doing everything you used to do, but I want to make sure before you go crazy with it. Stay on bed rest for a few days for me? Please?” he begged, his bottom lip jutting out as he pouted. Jared could never resist his pouting because he loved Jensen’s lips, and Jensen wasn’t above using his features to get what he wanted. 

Although he didn’t want to be on bed rest, Jared would do it for Jensen. “Fine,” he smiled with a small nod, kissing Jensen again. “You’re such a cheater using your lips against me like that,” he accused before he sucked Jensen’s bottom lip into his mouth, nipping it softly. “You know how I feel about them.” Pulling back slightly, his arm still wrapped around Jensen’s shoulder and his hand still fisted in Jensen’s hair, Jared smiled once more. “Can we go now, please?” he begged, feeling like a child begging for that favorite toy he’d seen on the television. “I just wanna see my bed again. It’s so much comfortable than the hospital beds. And I want to eat normal food. Nothing against Jim’s cooking, but yours is so much better.”

Smiling, Jensen nodded, letting Jared know that he would take him home. He chuckled softly when Jared made a comment about his food. “You’re not even out of the hospital doors yet and you’re already bossing me around,” he smiled softly. “I don’t mind, baby,” he whispered as his thumb stroked along Jared’s cheek when he noticed that Jared seemed embarrassed by Jensen’s words. “I actually love it when you give me orders. But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I _will_ deny it.” Another smile came to Jensen’s lips when Jared chuckled, the older man pulling Jared against his chest and kissing the top of his head. “Let’s get you home.”

He didn’t have to be told twice before he was nodding, quickly walking down the hall and out of the hospital. Jensen had to help him walk up to the top floor of the mansion, but other than that, Jared had done really well. As soon as they were in the room, Jensen all but forced Jared on the bed, repositioning the pillows so Jared could lie back more comfortably. “Jensen, you don’t have to mother hen me,” Jared chuckled with a small shake of his head. “I’m fine, I promise. The only reason I’m still on bed rest is because I promised you I’d take it easy.” Patting the bed beside him, Jared instructed, “Come sit with me.”

“Come sit with you, huh?” Jensen asked with a smile, already moving to do as he was told. The smile that split Jared’s face was enough to melt Jensen’s heart, the older man wrapping his arm around Jared’s shoulders as Jared snuggled up in the bed beside him. He was a little apprehensive about being in the bed with Jared too long though because his body was already starting to take an interest in his mate being so close to him. Tonight was a full moon after all, so Jensen was probably going to have to camp out in one of the spare bedrooms for the next few nights. Jared had just been released from the hospital after suffering a brutal attack and Jensen had to keep reminding himself of that, otherwise he was worried he was going to do something stupid.

A small frown came to Jared’s lips as he noticed Jensen was deep in thought. Jared had a feeling he knew what Jensen was worried about and he wished he could silence Jensen’s worries. But he wasn’t sure if hit was possible. Still, for Jensen, Jared was willing to try. “Kiss me,” he whispered softly, leaning up to press his lips against Jensen’s. It felt nice, just a soft, gentle press of their lips for a few beats before they were pulling away. Jensen tried to say something, but Jared silenced him with another kiss, this one deeper, more seeking as Jared teased Jensen’s lips open with his tongue, the muscles tangling in Jensen’s mouth before Jensen allowed Jared to win the battle for dominance.

By the time they pulled away, both men were panting, their inner wolves calling out to each other as the minutes ticked by and it became closer to moonrise. “Jared,” Jensen whispered, his voice sounding almost pained with the knowledge that he couldn’t have what he wanted. “We can’t do this, baby,” he explained, though he wasn’t moving to get off the bed or pulling away from Jared. “I don’t…want to make you feel like you _have_ to have sex with me just because it’s a full moon, you know?” His hand that was on Jared’s hip tightened a little, possessively, around Jared’s body as Jensen licked his lips, refraining from kissing Jared like he wanted to. “You’ve been through a lot, Jay, and I don’t want to make you think that I’m trying to push you into something you’re not ready for.”

Gently, Jared pressed his index finger to Jensen’s lips, silencing his mate’s rambling. “I want you, Jensen,” Jared whispered softly, giving his head a small nod to reiterate his point. “And yeah, I just suffered through a _huge_ ordeal, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still want you.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared absently rubbed his thumb across Jensen’s chest where his hand was resting. “Jim gave me a clean bill of health, Jen, and everything still works the way it’s supposed to.” Again, Jared bit into his bottom lip as his gaze ticked up to meet Jensen’s. “There’s no reason we can’t try. Un-Unless you don’t want to. I mean, I’d understand if you –”

Before Jared could finish his sentence, Jensen crushed their lips together again. He knew where Jared’s mind was going and he didn’t want Jared to think for a second that he didn’t want him in every way possible. “Shhh…” he shushed when he finally broke the kiss, giving his head a small shake. “Don’t talk like that. Don’t _think_ like that. I want you, Jared, all of the time, in any way I can get you. And nothing is ever going to change that, baby.” Again, he kissed Jared’s lips, pushing his tongue into the younger male’s mouth, eagerly dominating Jared this time as he slowly rolled them both so that he was on top of Jared. “We can try,” he whispered as his lips trailed a hot path down Jared’s throat, nipping at his skin. “But if you need me to stop, just say so and I will. I’m not going to get mad.”

Jared gasped softly into Jensen’s mouth when he rolled them so that Jared was underneath him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this position; if he was on top, maybe it would be better. This position brought back too many memories of when he had been being held prisoner by those animals who kidnapped him and Jared was already starting to panic. If their positions were switched, Jared could have more control over everything, which is what he needed right now. As he rolled them so he was on top, he was trying to be subtle, knowing that if he had to explain everything, it would probably embarrass the hell out of him. However, when Jensen tried to roll them over again, Jared pulled back, pressing Jensen’s hands which were laced with his own into the mattress harder. “Please…like this?” he whispered, chewing at his bottom lip again.

When Jared all but begged him to stay like this, Jensen nodded, figuring it had something to do with what happened to the younger man, but not wanting to bring it up and run the risk of upsetting Jared. “C’mere and kiss me,” he instructed, hoping that it would take Jared’s mind off the bad that had happened to him and bring him back to the here and now. Luckily, Jared did as he was told, Jensen quickly fisting his hand in Jared’s hair, pulling the younger beta closer. Slowly, his free hand slid lower, gripping the hem of Jared’s T-shirt and pulling it up off Jared’s body, their lips parting for only a moment so he could remove the article of clothing fully before they were kissing again. He smiled as Jared all but ripped his shirt off, watching as his mate kissed along his forearms, paying special attention to the tattoos there; Jensen knew Jared had a thing for his tattoos, so he was going to let him enjoy this for now.

“Pants,” Jared mumbled softly once he’d kissed over every letter on Jensen’s arms, his hands moving to pop the fastenings on Jensen’s jeans, wanting to get his lover naked so they could get the show on the road. This position was definitely better for him and Jared was eager to be with his mate again. He wasted no time getting Jensen naked, quickly stripping out of his own clothes before he returned to straddling Jensen’s hips, moaning softly as his mate’s shaft slipped into the crack of his ass. “Mmm…Jen…god, I want you so badly right now.”

Moaning softly, Jensen reached for the nightstand, pulling the top drawer open and retrieving both the lube and a condom, tossing the condom onto the bed beside them as he popped the cap on the lube, getting his fingers nice and slick. He moved slowly then, whispering to Jared every move he was making as he started opening the young beta, preparing him for what was to come. It didn’t take long to get Jared ready, his beta wolf already pleading out to Jensen’s alpha to just take him already and stop playing around. Jensen had no problem with that, quickly reaching for the condom and tearing the package open.

However, just as Jensen was about to put the condom on, Jared stopped him, giving his head a small shake as he took the rubber from his mate and tossed it to the floor. “Jim said that because of the poison that was in my system, I won’t be able to get pregnant for at least six months,” Jared explained softly, his voice holding a sense of sadness to it. “So no condom tonight. I just wanna feel you.” He gasped softly in surprise when Jensen crushed their lips together again as he pushed into Jared slowly, obviously having no complaints about the lack of a condom. That time against the tree with Jared had been awesome and Jensen was looking forward to experiencing it again. 

Both men were panting as they made love, Jensen making sure to keep his eyes on Jared the whole time to make sure his mate didn’t get trapped in his thoughts and memories. Before he even knew what was happening, Jared’s back was arching and he was cumming, his inner muscles squeezing around Jensen’s cock and forcing the alpha’s orgasm to rip through him as well. He grunted softly when Jared collapsed on top of him, but he didn’t make the younger man move. Instead, Jensen wrapped his arm around him and held him close, his fingers carding through Jared’s hair slowly as they both calmed down after their climaxes. “I love you, baby,” he whispered softly in Jared’s ear, smiling at his lover when Jared lifted his head so they were looking at each other.

A wide smile split Jared’s lips as he leaned down and brushed his lips against Jensen’s. “I love you too, babe,” he whispered before he gently rolled off Jensen. “We should get cleaned up and get dressed. I was thinking that we could get matching tattoos like other mated couples do.” He smiled again when Jensen gave him a look that translated to him asking if he wanted to go now. “Yes, I want to go now. I don’t want to wait anymore to do things with you that mated, in love couples do.” Kissing Jensen’s lips once more, Jared whispered, “Don’t you think we’ve wasted enough time not doing these things?”

He didn’t have to be convinced to get matching tattoos with Jared, Jensen quickly shaking his head as he rolled off the bed and headed into the bathroom, starting the shower. “What were you thinking of getting?” he asked as he walked back into their bedroom, grabbing Jared’s hands and pulling him to his feet. Another chuckle left him when Jared shrugged, Jensen gently pushing Jared into the shower as he explained, “Don’t worry, I’m sure the tattoo artist will think of something to put on us. I mean, that’s his job, right?” Lathering the washcloth with soap, Jensen started washing Jared, cleaning off the cum and sweat from his lover’s body.

As Jensen washed him, Jared relaxed back into the solid body of his mate, sighing softly as he enjoyed the feel of Jensen’s hand running over his body. “I’m not worried,” he assured Jensen with a small shake of his head. “I’m just eager to get it done. I’ve never had a tattoo before and knowing that I’m sharing this experience with you for the first time is…amazing.” Turning in Jensen’s grasp, Jared leaned in and kissed his mate once more. “I love you,” he whispered again, smiling when Jensen told him he loved him too. He was pretty sure that he was never going to get tired of hearing Jensen say that. “Your turn,” he mumbled as he grabbed the other washcloth and started washing Jensen’s body, taking his time to rub his hands all over his lover’s body and steal kisses in between.

**~~**

Jared frowned as he rubbed his chest where there was now a tattoo printed on his skin, wondering if it was supposed to sting this badly. He supposed it was normal because he’d just had a needle repeatedly push ink into his skin, but it was still weird. The tattoo on the other hand was anything but weird. When they’d gotten here, Jensen told the artist to put a design on their chests just a little off to the left of where their hearts were and to make the design something significant to them and their love. Now, Jared and Jensen were walking back to the mansion with matching tattoos on their chests, and Jared thought it was probably one of the most romantic things he’d ever experienced.

The artist had chosen to have the letter “J” with a superscript number 2 encased in a fancy heart with flowers around it as their mating tattoo. Jared loved it, even if Jensen was complaining that it was kind of girly. Sure, it was a little girly, but it was awesome nonetheless. “You’ll get used to it,” Jared smiled as he jogged up the stairs and headed into their room, grabbing his suit and starting to get dressed. He and Jensen were having a recommitment ceremony tonight to celebrate their true love because Jared had felt like their first ceremony had been rushed and not very memorable. They hadn’t been in love the way they were now then, and Jared wanted it to be right. Other mates were in love when they had their ceremony and Jared wanted that.

Of course, Jensen had a hard time denying Jared of anything he wanted, so he’d gotten in touch with Rob and made the arrangements as well as informed the pack that he and Jared were having the ceremony. Now, it was time to get married again and Jensen was feeling a little nervous honestly. He wasn’t sure why – it wasn’t like Jared was going to say no, or anything. Maybe it was just because this time he loved Jared and all of this actually meant something. Last time, he’d just wanted Jared to be his beta mostly for the sex, but now he wanted Jared as his beta, his _mate_ , because he loved him more than anything. “Are you ready?” he whispered in Jared’s ear, taking his lover’s hand and leading them both out of the room. 

Suddenly, Jensen remembered that he’d forgotten to give Jared the present he had for him, quickly stopping Jared from moving down the stairs any further. “I got this for you,” he whispered as he pulled Jared’s ring out of his pocket. “I found it in the basement when I got you back and I had it shipped to the original jewelry company so they could engrave it.” Smiling softly, Jensen tilted the ring so Jared could see the engraving on the inside: _J &J, Forever & Always_. “They just got it back to me and I think this is the perfect time for you to put it on again.” Another smile came to his lips as Jared slipped the ring on before kissing him, their tongues tangling for a brief moment before they pulled away. “C’mon, let’s go get married again.”

All eyes were on them as they walked down the aisle together, both smiling at each as they parted at the end of the aisle, their hands still clasped together as Rob started the ceremony. It was different this time, not that Jensen and Jared would have noticed because they only had eyes for each and were barely paying attention to what Rob was saying. However, when they heard their cue to kiss, both Jensen and Jared leaned in, sealing the rest of their lives together with a deep, passionate kiss.


End file.
